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ALONE WITH GOD: 



A MAE"UAL OF DEYOTIOlsrS 



BEING A 



SERIES OF MEDITATIONS 



WITH 



FORMS OF PRAYER 

For Private Devotions, Family Worship and 

Special. Occasions. 

By J. H. GARRISON, 

JSditor ChHstian- Evangelist; author of *' Heavenward Way,^* 
''The Word Divided,'' ''Our Movement,'* etc. 



''LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY:'— Luke 11: 1. . > VQ 



ST. LOUIS: 

CHRISTIAN PUBLISHING COMPANY. 

1891. 







COPYEIGHTED, 1891, 

BY 

CHEISTIAN PUBLISHING COMPANY. 



-jf 



The LiBRiiKV 
OF Congress 

WA8HIM010N 



'•^ 



DEDICATION. 



TO THE MEMORY OF 

MY SAINTED MOTHER, 

WHOSE LIPS FIRST TAUGHT ME THE NAME OF JESUS, 
WHOSE LIFE WAS MY FIRST COMMENTARY 

ON HIS RELIGION, AND WHOSE 

LOVING HAND GENTLY GUIDED MY EARLY 

FOOTSTEPS INTO THE NARROW WAY, 

THIS LITTLE VOLUME IS MOST AFFECTIONATELY 

INSCRIBED, BY THE AUTHOR. 



CONTENTS. 



PAET I. MEDITATIO^^S. 

PAGE. 

The Silent Hour 1 

The Soul's Desire EOR God 7 

The Tender Shepherd 13 

The Gift OF THE Holy Spirit 17 

Christ Our Completeness 24 

In God's Image 32 

Coming TO God 41 

Life's Purpose, Tlan and Prize 51 

The Benefit of Prayer 61 

Hindrances to Prayer 73 

Prayer as a Habit of the Soul — 85 

Watchfulness 93 

The Mission of Suffering 102 

The Model Prayer 114 

Scriptural Instructions for Prayer 121 

PART II. FORMS OF PRAYER. 

I. Private Devotions. 

For Spiritual Renewal 131 

For God's Blessing 131 

For Spiritual Progress 132 

For Spiritual Joy 132 

For Contrition 133 

For Strength 133 

For Rulers 133 

Confession of Sin 134 

For Obedience 134 

For Holy Living 135 

For Right Living 135 

For Purity... 136 

For Our Neighbors. 136 

For Others 136 

Thanksgiving 137 

Against Spiritual Sloth. . . 137 

For Knowledge. . 137 

For Mercy 138 

Confession 138 

Commendatory 139 

For Perseverance 139 

(5) 



vi CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

For Grace 139 

For Pardon. 140 

For tlie Holy Spirit 140 

For Meekness - 140 

Intercession 141 

For Riglit Living 141 

Confession 142 

For God's Care for the Day . 142 

For Trust 143 

For Strength to Resist Temptation 143 

A Young Convert's Prayer 144 

In Time of Perplexity and Trouble 145 

For Increase of Faith 146 

For Pardon 147 

For Refuge in God = 148 

In Sickness ... 148 

Birthday 149 

For the Love of God 150 

For Patience 150 

Prayer for Truth 151 

For Temperance 151 

Prayer for Christ's Likeness 152 

During an Absence from Home. . 153 

For the Right Use of Wealth 154 

For Love to Others 155 

Before a Journey 155 

After a Safe Return 155 

For Our Parents 156 

For Absent Friends 156 

For One Who Has Asked Our Prayers in Trouble. . . 157 

For Diligence in Work 157 

Against Evil Thoughts 157 

For Ministers of the Gospel 158 

For the Grace of Love 158 

For Trust in Time of Anxiety 159 

For the Success of the Spoken Word 159 

For Those Who Preach the Word 160 

For Parents 160 

Before Going to the House of God 161 

For an Evening Devotion 162 

In Preparation for Communion 163 

Brief Prayers at Bedtime 164 

Rules of Conduct for Those at School 165 

For Use by Those at School 168 

On Choosing a Vocation 169 

Questions for Self -Examination 170 

II. Family Worship. 

Morning Prayers 175 

Evening Prayers 192 

Thanks before Meals 206 

Children's Evening Prayers .. 208 



CONTENTS. vii 



PAGE. 

For Special Events and Seasons. 

On a Member of the Family Leaving Home. 211 

For Our Children 212 

On a Bright Day in Summer 213 

Christmas Day 214 

New Year's Day 214 

In Time of Affliction 215 

In Winter 216 

For the Young on Uniting with the Church 216 

On the Birth of a Child 217 

On a Missionary Occasion 218 

On Behalf of Children 218 

For a Sick Child 219 

On a Wedding Morning 221 

On Entering a New Home 220 

m. Special Occasions. 

Before Communion 223 

Thanksgiving at the Lord's Table 225 

Before Baptism. . 227 

Prayer at Funeral of a Christian 228 

Invocation 229 

At a Wedding 230 

At Opening of a Sunday- School 230 

At Closing of a Sunday-School 231 

At Opening of the Y. P. S. C. E 232 

At Closing of the Y. P. S. C. E 233 

For Children's Day 234 

For Children's Mission Bands 235 

At Meeting of Official Board 235 

At Ladies' Missionary Meeting 236 

For Ordination Service . 238 

On Opening a House of Worship 239 

For a Temperance Meeting 240 

On Civic Occasions , 242 



PREFACE. 



This little volume owes its existence to numer- 
ous requests, especially from those young in years, 
or in Christian experience, for some work that 
would assist them in learning how to pray. 
Remembering that when the disciples came to 
Jesus with a similar request he did not refuse 
them, the author felt that it would be in harmony 
w^ith the spirit of the Master's example to respond 
to this request in the best manner he could. I am 
not unaware of the prejudice that exists among 
us, in common with most Protestant bodies, 
against printed forms of prayer. Within certain 
limits this aversion to forms is no doubt founded 
in reason. What is purely formal and perfunc- 
tory, can have no value as worship. To read a 
prayer, or to say a prayer, is not necessarily to 
pray. To use forms without the spirit is the 
constant tendency in all worship, no less in song 
than in prayer. And yet, forms are necessary. 
We could improvise our words in song, but 
printed hymns, carefully prepared, are much 
better, despite our tendency to forget the senti- 
ments of the familiar lines. And while forms of 
prayer are not so essential as hymns for music, 
yet it cannot be doubted, I think, that they may 
be very helpful to young Christians, not onlv in 

(9) 



PEE FACE, 



teaching them the language of prayer, but 
especially in fostering the spirit of prayer. They 
may, also, give wider scope to our spiritual 
desires, and hence to our petitions. There is a 
proper use, as well as an abuse, of forms. In a 
letter from the late President W. H. Woolery, of 
Bethany College, touching this enterprise, he 
said:— ^ 'I am really glad you are preparing a 
book of devotions. Our people need such a work. 
Carry it on to completion. You need not fear the 
criticism that ritualism will come from its use. 
Besides, our people could stand a httle more ritual 
than they have. It is a nice point to know just 
how much form to use in worship. There are 
extremes both ways, and we, if anything, are 
likely to err at the extreme of too little cere- 
mony." There are very few among us who, 
having given this question much thought, would 
not endorse his words. I will add, however, that 
it has not been my aim, in the preparation of this 
volume, to furnish forms of prayer for public 
worship, to be read out of the book, after the 
manner of the Episcopal Church. The forms 
given are intended to be suggestive and helpful to 
those who are young in Christian experience, and 
who have not j^et learned to voice the new-born 
desires and emotions of the heart. It is believed 
that their study, in private, will be found very 
useful in cultivating a devotional spirit, as well as 
in acquainting young disciples with appropriate 
language in which to express their petitions. 
These forms will accomplish their purpose best in 



PBEFACE. xi 



those who so use them as to become, after awhile, 
independent of them. 

The author confesses to a feehng he has had for 
several ^''ears, that there is a great lack, among the 
rank and file of our membership, and not unfre- 
quently manifesting itself, also, in the ministry, 
of a devotional spirit. If it were germane to my 
present purpose, it would not be difficult to assign 
some reasons why this is so, but at present, I am 
concerned only with the fact itself. This lack is 
seen in the small number who attend our prayer- 
meetings, the still smaller number who can be 
relied on to lead in prayer, the large number of 
homes in which there is no regular family wor- 
ship, and in the unspiritual character of many of 
our church members. I institute no comparison 
between ourselves and others. There is reason to 
fear that the lack of which I am speaking, is far 
top general. This restless, rushing age, with its 
eager pursuit of wealth, honor and worldly pleas- 
ure, cannot fail to make its baneful influence felt 
on the spiritual life of the church. To contribute, 
in a very humble way, towards the neutralization 
of these adverse influences, and to point out, and 
stimulate my readers to attain, a higher standard 
of personal piety, has been my chief aim in the 
preparation of this work. 

The book has a plan of its own which is differ- 
ent from that of any similar work, so far as I 
know. Part I. contains a series of meditations on 
scripture passages designed to cover, in the main, 
our relations to God, and the privileges and 



xii ' PHEFA.Gbj, 



duties growing out of these relations. Following 
each of these meditations, or studies, is a brief 
prayer, conceived in the spirit of the scripture 
which has been the theme of meditation. It has 
been my aim in this part of the work, to avoid, 
on the one hand, a severe, didactic style, as 
unsuited to the hour of devotion, and on the 
other^ what might be called the ' 'goody-goody'' 
style, which consists chiefly in pious platitudes, 
containing no solid instruction. In a word, I 
have tried to make these meditations both instruc- 
tive and devotional. How far I have succeeded 
in this is for others to judge. Here, especially, I 
have kept constantly in mind the needs of the 
young, to help whom to the attainment of a high 
ideal of manhood and womanhood is a growing 
passion of my life. No higher compensation 
could I receive for whatever labor and time I have 
devoted to this work than the knowledge that it 
had been promotive of higher aims and ideals in 
my young readers. 

The forms of prayer which follow under the 
title of ^'Private Devotions," are intended to cover 
a wide scope of our spiritual needs, and are 
adapted for personal use in the closet, where the 
^'Father who seeth in secret" will hear and reward 
openly. The original design of the work was 
limited to private devotions, consisting of the 
meditations and personal prayers, hence the title 
of the work. At the request of many, I have 
added the Family Worship and Special Occasion 
departments. While these do not fall strictly 



PBEFACE, xiii 



under the title, '^ Alone with God,*' I have 
thought best to let the name stand, and have 
added the subhead, ^'Manual of Devotions," 
which is broad enough to cover every feature of 
the book. 

In the forms of prayer for 'Private Devotions" 
and ^'Family Worship,'' I have made free use of 
the literature of prayer, so far as it was accessible 
to me, culling from every available source, and 
especially from the more ancient forms which 
have borne the test of long usage, but taking the 
privilege of cutting out, or altering, objectionable 
phrases, archaic forms of speech, and adding 
what seemed to be required to adapt them to their 
present use. By so doing it is believed that a 
much more valuable collection of prayers has 
been secured than would have been possible in 
any other way. In the original forms here sub- 
mitted there has been not the slightest attempt at 
rhetorical finish or flourish. Eather, the effort 
has been at plainness and simplicity of speech, 
which is more befitting the soul's intercourse with 
God. 

It will perhaps be sufficient explanation of any 
imperfections which the reader may discover, 
either in the plan of the work, or in the manner 
in which it is carried out, if he will kindly 
remember that the author has had to prepare this 
volume in the fragments of time which he could 
gather up in the midst of his constantly pressing 
labors as editor of the Christian-Evangelist, and 
with the additional limitation, during a greater 



xiv FEE FACE, 



part of the time, of impaired health. But such 
as it is, and with all its imperfections, this little 
volume is now submitted to the charitable consid- 
eration of those for whom it is intended, with 
grateful remembrance of the favorable reception 
which was given to a former and not dissimilar 
work. Its preparation, even in the midst of other 
labors, has been a work of love, which has 
brought a rich blessing to my own heart. I can 
only pray that, under God, it may prove a bless- 
ing to all who examine its pages in a devotional 
spirit, and be found helpful in cultivating that 
'^holiness, without which no man shall see the 
Lord/' J. H. G. 



Rose Hill: St. Louis, May l, 1891. 



PAET I. 



MEDITATIONS. 



"By all means, use sometimes to be alone. 
Salute thyself ; see what thy soul doth wear. 
Dare to look In thy chest ; for 'tis thine own ; 
And tumble up and down what thou findest there." 

George Herbert, 



"We may lay it down as an elemental principle of religion, 
that no large growth in holiness was ever gained by one 
who did not take tmieto be often and long alone with God. 
This kind goeth not out without prayer and fasting. No 
otherwise can the great central idea of God enter into a 
man's life, and dwell there, supreme." 

Austin Phelps, 



"In the secret of His presence, 

How my soul delights to hide! 
Oh, how precious are the lessons 

Which I learn at Jesus' side! 
Earthly cares can never vex me, 

Neither trials lay me low, 
For when Satan comes to tempt me. 

To the secret place I go." 

E. L. Gorch, 



I. 

THE SILENT HOUR. 



And when he had sent the mnltitndes away he went up 
into a monntain apart to pray : and when the evening was 
come he was there alone. Matt. 14:23. 

THE busy day is ended. The shades of 
evening invite to repose. The gathering 

darkness wooes the soul to meditation. How 
solemn is the night! The stars that look down 
upon us from their serene heights rebuke our 
fretfulness, and our undue absorption in the 
trivial concerns of this transitory life. They 
speak to us of that fair world where sin never 
blights, where death never invades, and where 
no shadow of sorrow ever falls. Let me, like 
the Master, retire awhile to solitude and give 
myself to meditation and prayer. O the quiet, 
holy joy of the silent hour, when the soul is 
alone with God! Have you learned to love it, 
dear reader? If not, you have yet to attain to 
one of the purest and sweetest pleasures pos- 
sible to a Christian in this life. And our souls 
need the silent hour. Our contact with the 
visible world and with material things, neces- 

(1) 



ALONE WITH GOD, 



sary as it is, tends to deaden the finer sensi- 
bilities of our nature, and to impoverish the 
spirit, unless the influence is counterbalanced by 
seasons of quiet meditation and communion 
with the invisible God. God speaks to the soul 
in its moments of reverential silence. "Seldom 
find we a soul still enough to hear God speak." 
"My speech shall distill as the dew." Every 
day should have its quiet moments when, alone 
with God, the soul may meditate, with deep 
and silent awe, on everlasting things, and un- 
bosom itself before the Father of spirits. This 
habit of reverent intimacy with God imparts 
that spiritual tone, that sensitiveness of con- 
science, that realization of the divine presence, 
so essential to moral beauty and symmetry of 
character. Shut in from the noise and scenes 
of the busy world, in the solitude of our cham- 
ber, we can the better examine our own hearts 
and give ourselves up to holier thoughts. "He, 
therefore, that intends to attain to the more in- 
ward and spiritual things of religion," says 
Thomas a Kempis, "must, with Jesus, depart 
from the multitude and press of people." ]N"or 
will there be any lack of time for this silent 
hour, if the fragments of hours, too often 
wasted on frivolous things, be gathered up for 
that purpose. No time to get ready for eter- 
nity? What, then, is time for? Lord;, "so teach 



THE SILENT HO UB, 



us to number our days that we may get us a 
heart of wisdom! " 

Oh, how thoughtlessly the great mass of 
human beings are rushing on to eternity! 
Pressed by the demands of business, of pleas- 
ure and of society, how seldom do they take a 
quiet hour for reflection on their spiritual state 
and destiny! Perhaps it is not until the heavy 
hand of affliction is laid upon them that they 
pause in the mad pursuit of the world's prizes 
and pleasures, to hold converse with their own 
hearts. And even then they find little enjoy- 
ment in these moments of introspection, so un- 
accustomed are they to being alone with God 
and their own conscience. It is like sitting 
in a strange room with strange company. The 
godless and the unthinking dislike to be alone. 
They have no company in their own thoughts, 
aild know not how to commune with their own 
hearts. The giddy crowd, the unseemly jest, 
the hollow laughter of gay companions — these 
have far more attraction for them than 
thoughts about God, eternity, their own souls, 
their duty or their destiny. They relish more 
the society of the devotees of Pleasure, than of 
those whose ''delight is in the law of the 
Lord." This is poverty in comparison with 
which the lack of mere worldly possessions is 
scarcely to be named. 



AZONE WITH GOD. 



Nor can it be denied that many professed 
Christians are living poor, lean, unspiritual 
lives, vrithout any real relish for God's word, 
or for prayer, because of their habitual neglect 
of private meditation, self-examination and 
secret communings with God. And for this 
neglect few of them can give any better excuse 
than the lack of time. There is time to look 
after the condition of the farm, the stock, the 
shop, the office and the markets, but no time 
to inquire into the condition of the soul and its 
fitness for eternity! Time to minister to the 
wants of the perishable body, but no time to 
look after the needs of the undying spirit! 
Can there be any greater delusion or self-de- 
ception than this? Is it not clearly one of the 
devices of Satan? 

It is time that all such Christians should 
awaken from their slumber, and betake them- 
selves to self-examination and prayer. O that 
every reader of these lines would resolve that, 
henceforth, in the calendar of daily duties, the 
lone hour with God shall have its place! Such 
a custom, once universally established, would 
work a glorious revolution in individual char- 
acter, in family life, and in every department of 
Christian activity. It would fill the empty 
pews, increase the Sunday school, crowd the 
weekly prayer-meeting, supply the church 



THE SILENT HO UR, 



treasury, swell the missionary offerings, furnish 
helping hands for weary and discouraged pas- 
tors, and raise the whole tone of church life and 
worship to a higher spiritual plane. 

But this reform, like every other, must begin 
with individuals, and work, like leaven in the 
meal, until the whole mass be leavened. "Will 
you begin at once this habit of private prayer, 
and meditation on some portion of God's word, 
and when you realize its personal benefits, 
commend it to others? To all who feel the im- 
pulse so to do, may God give strength to carry 
it into immediate practice ! 



Prayer. 

O Thou who hearest prayer, bend low Thine 
ear to hear the faintest whisper of one of the 
weakest of Thy children. I come to Thee, O 
Thou loving Father, because Thou hast bidden 
me come, and because I feel my need of Thee. 
Thou, O God, alone canst supply my needs. 1 
am unworthy of the least of Thy mercies, but I 
come in the name of Jesus, and beseech Thee, 
for his dear sake, to hear and answer mv 
prayer, and to accept my thanksgiving and 
praise, which I offer in his name. I thank 
Thee, most gracious Father, that Thou hast 
called me into fellowship with Thee and with 



6 ALONE WITH GOD. 

Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior. I thank 
Thee for a place in Thy family, and the priv- 
ilege of calling Thee Father, and feeling that 
Thou carest for me, even me. And now, I be- 
seech Thee, to grant that I may hunger and 
thirst after righteousness; that I may seek daily 
to feed on the divine manna which came down 
from heaven. O that my soul may be watered 
with the dews of Thy salvation! As Thou dost 
nourish all the living things of nature and 
cause them to grow, so, O Lord, wilt Thou 
nourish this soul of mine which Thou hast cre- 
ated, and stir up within me new thoughts of 
duty and new desires of holiness. Cause me 
to delight in Thy word, in Thy house, in the 
communion of saints, in the fellowship of 
Christian work, and in prayer. May I learn to 
love and to look forward to these precious 
moments of communion with Thee, and to find 
here grace and strength for my daily need. In 
the plentitucle of Thy mercy, O Father, forgive 
vtij past sins and strengthen me with might by 
Thy Spirit in the inner man, that I may over- 
come all my evil inclinations and triumph over 
every evil habit. So feeding on Thy word, medi- 
tating on Thy goodness, and communing with 
Thee, may I grow up into the image of him who 
is our living head, even Jesus Christ. And this 
I ask for his name's sake. Amen! 



II. 

THE SOUL'S DESIRE FOR GOD. 



As the hart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth 
my soul after thee, O God! Ps. 42:1. 

IN these words David has expressed the de- 
sire of every pious soul. Who, that has 
ever drunk of the water of life, can ever be sat- 
isfied without it? Indeed, the unrest and in- 
ward conflict, so characteristic of our universal 
human nature, are but the results of man's dis- 
harmony with God. Created in the image of 
God — with a mental and moral nature like his 
— nothing but God can satisfy man's highest 
needs. The spirit of man is too capacious — 
has too roval a birth — to be satisfied with what 
this earth can give it. The body, made from 
this earth, can be fed by the earth ; but the soul, 
having come from God, can only be fed by 
Him. Christ has brought us a fuller revelation 
of God than David knew, and gives new and 
stronger reasons why the soul should long for 

Him. He is our Father. He so loved the world 

(7) 



8 ALONE WITH GOD. 

as to give his only begotten Son to save it. O 
the infinite depths and tenderness of His love ! 
O the sweetness of that rest and peace which 
the wearied soul finds in reposing on the bosom 
of Christ! What plummet line can sound the 
depth of that compassion which utters itself in 
the gracious words: ''Come unto me, all ye 
that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give 
you rest!" Alas, that we should go through 
life with our souls full of unrest, and never 
heed this invitation, nor perceive that it is 
meant for us ! 

Jesus is God's response to the souPs cry for 
the ''living God." When he spoke to the 
woman at Jacob's well of that water which he 
would give, of which, if one drink, he shall 
never thirst, he spoke of that thirst of the soul 
after God of which the psalmist of Israel sang 
centuries before. It is, therefore, the universal 
need of man in all ages. How strong is the 
word chosen to express that need! Thirst is, 
perhaps, the most intense desire the human 
body may know. Its pangs to the thirsty trav- 
eler in the parched desert are almost insuffer- 
able. What thirst is to the body, this desire is 
to the human soul. O that we could realize 
that it is only in Christ that the soul's needs are 
fully met! 

In that wonderful sermon of Jesus on the 



THE SOUL'S DESIBE FOB GOD, 9 

mount, he said: "Blessed are they that hunger 
and tMrst after righteousness, for they shall be 
filled.'''^ This thirst or intense desire for right- 
eousness is not different from the thirst for God, 
They are different names for the same great 
longing of the human soul. This desire for God 
and Ms righteousness is the mark of the souPs 
divine origin and kinship. It is also an unfail- 
ing sign of the normal and healthful condition 
of the soul. The soul that thirsts for God has 
come into right relations to the source of its life 
and being. The prodigal son for awliile felt 
satisfied with the gratification of the desires of 
his lower nature, but, when he "came to him- 
self," he immediately thought of his father's 
house and how he had sinned against heaven 
and in his father's sight. The thoughtless and 
worldly-minded may become so infatuated 
^vith the world's pleasures and its wealth and 
honor, as to be unconscious of their need of 
God, and to experience no desire for commim- 
ion ^vith him. AYlien such is the case, the soul 
is in captivity to Satan. It has come to that 
depraved condition that it loves sin, and has no 
appreciation of its true nature and a^vful con- 
sequences. It is in a state of moral insensi- 
bility. All the higher aspirations and nobler 
capacities are smothered by the desires of the 
flesh. As we deem one sick, in body, who has 



10 ALONE WITH GOD, 

no appetite for healthful food, and will not par- 
take of it, so may we regard that soul as dis- 
eased, and in an abnormal condition, that has 
no hunger and thirst for God, nor for his truth 
and righteousness. 

When such a soul comes to itself, that is, re- 
sumes its normal attitude toward God, it at 
once begins to relish God's word, and to long 
for communion and fellowship with him. It 
will avail itself of private prayer and will not 
neglect the public worship of God. How sweet 
are the songs of Zion to a heart that thirsts for 
God! How helpful are the preacher's earnest 
words, declaring the riches of God's grace in 
Christ Jesus ! How tender and impressive the 
memorial feast of the Lord's supper! It is, in 
such a mood, that the soul can exclaim: 

**How amiable are thy tabernacles 
O Lord of hosts !"* 

And when, for any reason, the soul thus 
united to God is deprived of the privilege of pub- 
lic worship, the natural language is: 

"My sonl longeth, yea, even fainteth, for the conrts of the 

Lord; 
My heart and my flesh cry out nnto the living God."t 

How beautiful and inspiring a thing is pub- 
lic worship, when Christians meet in such a 
state of spiritual longing as these words ex- 

*Ps. 84:1. t 1*5.84:2. 



THE SOUL'S DESIBE FOB GOD. 11 

press! ]^o one could enter into such an as- 
sembly Avithout being brought consciously 
nearer to God. There could be no listlessness, 
no yawning, no impatience to get away, no dis- 
position to criticise the preacher's voice or ges- 
tures or rhetoric, or the music. A\liat a lux- 
ury it would be to preach to a congregation 
whose souls were panting for God and thirsting 
for the water of life ! What a prayer-meeting 
such a church could have ! O that there were 
more private and family devotion at home; 
more daily meditation on the word of God ; 
that there might be new power and inspiration 
in the public worship, and more thirsting for 
the living God! 



Prayer. 

Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, who 
didst create man in Thine own image, Avith de- 
sires and needs which this world cannot satisfv ; 
grant, I beseech Thee, that my soul may find 
rest and full satisfaction in Thee. I thank Thee 
for the rich revelation of Thy love and gracious 
care for man which Thou hast given us in Jesus 
Christ; that in him the fulness of the Godhead 
did dwell bodily; that, by his death and res- 



12 ALONE WITH GOD. 

urrection from the dead, Thou hast provided for 
man's forgiveness and for his existence beyond 
the grave. Yea, every need of the soul is met 
in Christ. In him we are complete. C^ that 
my soul may ever realize this truth and seek its 
happiness and its satisfaction in Thee! For- 
bid, gracious Father, that my heart should 
ever be won from Thee by the world's pleas- 
ures, honors or riches. Thou, alone, canst sup- 
ply the wants of my nature. Draw me closer 
to Thee, and in every storm of trial or tempta- 
tion, may I find rest and refuge in Thee. In- 
crease my desire for Thee, O God, so that my 
soul may find its supreme delight in com- 
munion with Thee. And grant that, having 
found Thy fellowship very sweet on earth, I 
may be permitted to spend eternity with Thee, 
for Christ's sake. Amen! 



III. 



THE TENDER SHEPHERD. 



The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Ps. 23:1. 

SO sang David, vho, himseK, in his boyhood, 
had tended his father's sheep in the wil- 
derness not far from Ms native Bethlehem. The 
care and solicitude of an Eastern shepherd for 
his flock he knew from experience. He knew 
the dangers to which tliese flocks were ex- 
posed in the deep solitudes, from wild beasts, 
robbers and from sudden torrents. Had he not 
imperiled his own life in defending his father's 
sheep from the lion and the bear in the wil- 
derness?* He had been called from the sheep- 
folds at Betlilehem to be a king and shepherd 
of Israel. t It was because he had been 
"faithful over a few things" that the Lord 
chose him to be a "ruler over many things." 
In the sad experiences he had with Saul, and 
in the anxieties and responsibilities of his king- 

* 1 Sam. 17 : 34-36. f Ps. 78: 70-72. 
(13) 



14 ALOXE WITH GOD. 

dom, he had come to know the Lord's tender 
care for him, and hence was enabled to sing, 
out of his own heart, this idyllic psalm, which 
has been a solace to so many troubled hearts in 
all subsequent ages. 

Wliat a beautiful picture of Christ's love and 
care for his disciples ! How tenderly the shep- 
herd guards the young and feeble of his flock, 
often carrying the lambs in his bosom. So it 
was prophesied of Christ by Isaiah: "He shall 
feed his flock like a shepherd ; he shall gather 
the lambs with his arm and carry them in his 
bosom, and shall gently lead those that are 
with young."* How he bears with our infirm- 
ities! ''He knoweth our frame, that we are 
dust." What a scene of pastoral beauty and 
loveliness is here brought before us, with its 
"still waters" and "green pastures!" How 
bountiful the pro^dsion for our soul's needs 
suggested by verdant fields and the deep, quiet 
pools ! As the sheep never lies down in the 
green and tender grass until its wants are fully 
met and it is perfectly content, what a striking 
and beautiful picture this is of the soul's peace 
and contentment in Christ! Faithful and ten- 
der Shepherd that he is, he will not desert us, 
though we walk through the valley and 
shadow of death! His rod and staff will com- 

*Isa. 40: 11. 



THE TEXDEB SHEPHEMD. 15 

fort us even there, so that we need fear no evil. 
O the precious comfort of knowing that Christ 
is over us continually with a shepherd's watch- 
ful eye, and that he is mighty and able to save! 
It is this feeling of security in divine care, that 
inspired one of our own sweet poets to sing: 

"I know not where his islands lift 
Their fronded palms in air; 
I only know I cannot drift 
Beyond his love and care.'* 



Prayer. 

O Thou great Shepherd of the sheep, I am 
one of the weakest of Thy flock; the more 
reason, therefore, have I to thank Thee that 
Thou hast taken me under Thv tender care. Ex- 
posed to sin 'and to all the perils which Satan 
spreads in my way, how could I do without 
Thy strong hand to uphold me? Accept my 
warmest thanks, dear Lord, that when I was 
wandering far away from thy fold, on the dark 
mountains of sin, exposed to eternal ruin. Thou 
didst come to seek and to save me. I bless 
Thee that I have ever heard and heeded Thv 
tender voice, calling unto me and saying: 
''Come unto me, and I will give you rest." And 



16 ALONE WITH GOD. 



now, O Lord, that I have committed myself 
and all my interests for time and eternity to 
Thy care, put around me the strong arm of Thy 
loye, guide me with Thy shepherd's staff in 
paths of righteousness ; restore my soul when 
it is faint and weary ; deliver me from all the 
dangers that beset me, and when at last I am 
called to pass through the dark valley of the 
shadow of death, O gentle Shepherd, be Thou 
with me in that otherwise lone passage, and 
comfort me when all other comforters fail. 
And when my eyes shall close forever on mor- 
tal scenes, grant that they may open on fairer 
fields and brighter visions of life eternal and 
"behold the King in his beauty," and I will 
give unceasing praise to Father, Son and Holy 
Spirit, world without end. Amen! 



IV. 
THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 



I will pray the Father and he will give yon another Com- 
forter that he may abide with you forever, even the Spirit 
of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth 
him not, neither knoweth him ; but ye know him, for he 
dwelleth with you and shall be in you. John 14:16,17. 

God's gifts to men are on a scale of royal 
munificence. He gave man his own im- 
age in his creation, and then gave him dominion 
over the earth and over all the infinite tenantry 
of life which inhabit it. All through human 
history God has la^dshed his gifts upon men, 
revealing himself to them as they were able to 
understand his revelations, and giving them 
the knowledge of his will. But the two 
greatest gifts God ever gave to men were the 
gift of his Son, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, 
Christ's mission was to reveal God as 
Father. The Holy Spirit's mission was to 
reveal Christ to his disciples and lead them 
to a clear understanding of the sublime sig- 
nificance of the incarnation and its related 

truths. Compare the condition of Christ's 
2 (173 ■ 



18 ALONE WITH GOD. 

disciples before and after receiving the prom- 
ised Comforter or Advocate, in order to realize 
the importance of the Spirit's mission. Before 
Pentecost they were doubtful, hesitating, still 
ignorant of Christ's mission, and timid. After 
that day they comprehended Christ's true 
character and mission, saw clearly the sig- 
nificance of his death and resurrection, and 
were courageous and fearless in their testi- 
mony. How incomplete would have been the 
scheme of human redemption without the gift 
of the Holy Spirit! After Christ's glorification 
the Comforter came to carry on his work by 
illuminating the minds and strengthening the 
hearts of his disciples, and to be a Helper and a 
Comforter who should "abide forever." This 
settles the question as to the continuance of the 
Holy Spirit in the church. He is not only to 
"convict the world of sin, of righteousness and 
of judgment," but he sustains to believers the 
important relations of Comforter, Helper, 
Guide, Guest, Enlightener, Sanctifier, Strength- 
ener and Witness, through whose gracious 
agency the love of God is shed abroad in the 
heart. In a word, it is by the Spirit that Christ 
fulfills his promise to his disciples that he will 
not leave them "desolate" but will come unto 
them* It was "expedient" that he should go 
away from them in bodily presence that he 



THE GIFT OF THE JIOLY SFIBIT. 19 

might henceforth be with them in spiritual 
presence to carry on his work in them. 

There can be no doubt that the gift of the 
Holy Spirit was to be one of the chief char- 
acteristics of the Christian dispensation. Was 
it not this, especially, that made Christ say that 
the least in the kingdom of God was greater 
than John the Baptist? John, indeed, bap- 
tized in water, but he who came after him, who 
was so much greater than John that the latter 
deemed himself unworthy to loose his sandals, 
baptized in the Holy Spirit. Granted that this 
baptism in the Holy Spirit involved miraculous 
manifestations limited to the Apostolic age, it 
yet remains true that the results of this miracu- 
lous outpouring are a permanent inheritance in 
the church. Of this fountain of spiritual 
power all believers are to partake, and by par- 
taking, to become sources of spiritual influence. 
Hence, it was, that on the last, and the great 
day of the feast, "Jesus stood and cried, saying. 
If any man thirst, let him come unto me and 
drink. He that belie veth on me, as the scrip- 
ture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers 
of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit^ 
which they that believed on him were to receive : 
for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus 
was not yet glorified."* 

* John 7-37-39. 



20 ALONE WITH GOD. 

This remarkable passage teaches the follow- 
ing important truths : 

1. The soul's thirst for God and for right- 
eousness can be satisfied only by Christ. 

2. Those, only, who believe on Christ, can 
''drink" of the living water which he supplies. 

3. That "living water," of which believers in 
Christ may drink, and which, thenceforth, is to 
flow from them in streams so copious as to be 
called "rivers," is, as the evangelist explains, 
the Holy Spirit, 

4. The Holy Spirit, however, at that time 
had not been given, in the special way men- 
tioned by Jesus. 

5. The giving of the Holy Spirit, in this way, 
was not to be until the glorification of Christ, 
and hence was limited to the Christian dis- 
pensation, beginning on Pentecost following 
Christ's resurrection. 

These truths may well lead us to inquire 
whether we have availed ourselves of the 
crowning glory of the dispensation in which 
we live, and have so drunk of the Holy Spirit, 
through faith in Christ, as that our souls have 
become fountains of living water. Alas, how 
barren and unfruitful are the lives of many 
professed Christians I Is this not because they 
have failed, through unbelief, to receive the 
Spirit, whose life-giving power beautifies and 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY iSPIBIT. 21 

adorns whatever it touches? If our lives be 
permeated by the Spirit of God, they will not 
fail to influence the lives with which we come 
in contact; and thus, by spiritual leaven, the 
whole unevangelized mass of mankind is to be 
leavened with the gospel, not only preached 
by our lips, but lived in our lives. I can not 
resist the solemn conviction that many among 
us, in their opposition to wild and visionary 
theories about the Spirit's methods, have gone 
to the opposite, and none the less harmful ex- 
treme, of neglecting to give sufl&cient emphasis 
to the proper and essential work, of the Holy 
Spirit — source of life, comfort, peace, joy, love 
and unity. I would urge upon all my readers 
a careful re-study of this important subject, in 
the light of the Holy Scriptures. The spiritual 
nature of Christ's kingdom, compared with the 
fleshly rites of Judaism, is its chief and most 
glorious characteristic. To overlook this fact or 
to neglect to give it due prominence, would be 
to fail at a vital point. 

In view of these gracious ofiices of the Spirit, 
how precious is Christ's word : ' 'Much more will 
your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to 
them that ask him ! " O that my heart may ever 
be a temple of the Holy Spirit! As He brooded 
of old over the primitive chaos of the newly- 
created world, clothing it with life, order and 



22 ALONE WITH GOD. 

beauty, so may He quicken and make fruitful 
all the latent powers and capacities of my being, 
and mould them in the image of Christ! 



Prayer. 



O Thou gracious Giver of all our gifts, how 
infinitely great and tender must be Thy love, 
that- has found expression in the unnumbered 
mercies that have crowned our lives ! Accept 
the gratitude of my heart, O lo^dng Father, for 
giving me a place, humble though it may be, 
in Thy great family. Hear me, while I plead 
for the Holy Spirit in larger measure, to en- 
lighten, quicken, comfort and strengthen me in 
Thy service. Since we are assured by Thy 
well-beloved Son that Thou art willing to give 
Thy Holy Spirit to them that ask Thee, I 
would with the more boldness ask this great 
gift at Thy hand. How much I need His pres- 
ence within me, that I may be strong to resist 
evil, that the love of God may be shed abroad 
in my heart, that my life may be like a fruitful 
garden and that my character may be con- 
formed to Thy divine will ! O may the fruit of 
the Spirit abound in me, that I may be used of 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIBIT, 23 

Thee in bringing others into fellowship Avith 
Thee! Forbid, O God, that I should grieve 
Thy Holy Spirit, by impure thoughts, unkind 
words, unrighteous acts, or by a life of careless 
indifference to the claims of religion. Help me 
to remember that my body is a temple of the 
Holy Spirit, and to keep it pure from all de- 
filement. Through Thy Spirit transform me, 
O God, into the image of Thy Son, and finally 
fashion this mortal body into the likeness of 
Christ's glorious body, that where he is there I 
may be also. And this I ask in his precious 
name. Amen I 



V. 

CHRIST OUR COMPLETENESS. 

For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the God-head 
bodily, and in him ye are made full, who is the head of all 
principality and power. Col. 2 :9, 10. 

THE revised rendering of this striking pass- 
age, as given above, brings out a beautiful 
and precious thought, which is somewhat 
obscured in the common version. Tlie Greek 
word rendered raade full is the verb form 
of the same word (^pleeroma) rendered ful- 
ness in the first clause, sliowing the apos- 
tle's meaning to be that as in Christ there 
dwells all the fulness of deity, in bodily form 
(somatikos), so we, likewise, by our union 
with Christ, are partakers of that same ful- 
ness. That is to say, every disciple of Christ, 
in his measure, is to be divine incarnation 
— an embodiment of those graces and virtues, 
and of that quality of life and [character 
which belong to God. This is a most daring 
and sublime thought, but it is not peculiar 
to Paul. Peter speaks of our becoming ''par- 
takers of the divine nature," and John, soaring 

(24) 



CHBIST OUB COMPLETENESS. 25 

in his eagle flight in the loftiest ranges of 
thought, declares that "when Christ is mani- 
fested we shall be like him, for we shall see him 
as he is" — a vision possible only to the "pure 
in heart." 

No fact forces itseK more frequently or pain- 
fully on our observation and consciousness than 
the imperfect and fragmentary character of our 
lives. Whether we consider the inadequacy of 
our knowledge of the greatest truths and prob- 
lems in the universe, our inability to recognize 
at all times the reality of the spiritual world, or 
our unsatisfactory efforts to live up to our 
ideals of life, we see only that which is partial, 
incomplete and imperfect. Not only do we 
"know in part and prophesy in part," but as a 
consequence, we live only "in part." The af- 
fections of the heart, no less than the intel- 
lections of the mind, are fragmentary. And 
yet this apostle, who reminds us of the incom- 
pleteness of our earthly life, is the same one 
that tells us of the completeness, fulness and 
rotundity of our lives in Christ. In him this 
inspired man of God sees the remedy for all our 
imperfections and incompleteness, because 
"in him dwelleth the fulness of the Godliead, 
bodily." This incarnation of divine fulness was 
for the purpose of communicating it to human 
need. Hence John tells us that Christ was 



26 ALONE WITH GOD, 

"full of grace and truth" and that "of his ful- 
ness have all we received, and grace for grace."* 

In another significant passage Paul analyzes 
this divine sufficiency in Christ as a prism 
separates a ray of white light into its constitu« 
ent colors. He says that Christ is "made unto 
us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and 
sanctification, and redemption."! As "wisdom 
from God," Christ supplements all our intellect- 
ual deficiencies. Wliat folly to turn away from 
Christ, the "wisdom from God," to learn from 
modern savants of science, concerning the great 
problems of life and death! As our "right- 
eousness," all our sins find pardon in his infinite 
mercy and our depraved hearts find renewal in 
his redeeming grace. As our "sanctification," 
the "law of the spirit of life" in him frees us 
from "the law of sin and death, "J strengthens 
our weakness, and conforms us into his image 
from one degree of glory to another. As our 
"redemption," he shall "fashion anew the body 
of our humiliation, that it may be conformed 
to the body of his glory, according to the work- 
ing whereby he is able to subject all things to 
himself." 1[ 

Is there any want of our nature that is not 
provided for in Christ? Wliat proof, convinc- 

* John 1 :14, 16. j 1 Cor. 1 :30. % Rom. 8 :2. n Phil. 3 :21. 



CHBIST OUB COMPLETENESS, 27 

ing and overwhelming, is this, that the author 
of Christianity is the author of man ! O the 
folly of turning away from Christ, who is the 
perfection and fulness of our being, to "phi- 
losophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of 
men, after the rudiments of the world!" To 
recognize in him one who is able to harmonize 
all the contradictions of our nature and to 
round out into completeness all the deficiencies 
of our lives, is the fundamental condition of all 
true and right living. This is why faith in him 
is the primal law of spiritual renewal, and the 
confession of him, in this unique relation, 
was made the foundation of his church. One 
who had caught a glimpse of Christ, in this 
beneficent aspect of his relations to humanity, 
exclaimed: ''For you, therefore, who believe, 
is the preciousness."* That is, faith is the 
channel by which the blessings in Christ are 
conveyed to men. It is unbelief, both in church 
members and in non-church members, that im- 
poverishes souls and deprives them of the 
riches of God's grace in Christ. Once the soul, 
hungering and thirsting after righteousness, sees 
in Christ the fulfillment of all its holiest desires 
and aspirations, he' becomes ''the cliiefest 
among ten thousand,^' and "altogether lovely. 'f 

* 1 Pet. 2 :7. t Canticles, 5 :10-16. 



28 ALONE WITH GOD, 

This apprehension of Christ makes communion 
with him, instead of an irksome duty, a con- 
stant delight and a source of unfailing joy. ^ 

But why, since we are "made full" in Christ, 
and all our emptiness of soul is provided for in 
his infinite fulness, do we who believe, experi- 
ence, so often, the consciousness of spiritual 
leanness, and of weakness in the presence of 
temptation? Why must we often say, with the 
psalmist: "Why art thou cast down, O my 
soul, and why art thou disquieted within me?"* 
The answer to these questions is to be found in 
the fact that our possession of, and full par- 
ticipation in, tliis fulness of Christ, is Si process^ 
which advances towards completion according 
to the law of spiritual growth. Here, as every- 
where else in God^s great universe, it is "first 
the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the 
ear."t Those who expect by one bound to 
spring into the perfection of Christian character, 
and the fulness of spiritual life and blessing, 
have not learned God's method. These pro- 
visions for all our needs, in Christ, are indeed 
regarded as ours, because intended for our use, 
but they must be appropriated by faith, and 
made our own subjectively, through the process 
of sanctification. He who would find complete 

*Ps. 43:5. t Mark 4:28. 



CHBI8T OUB COMPLETENESS. 29 

soul-rest in Christ, must take his yoke and learn 
of him'' — meaning entire subjection to Ms will 
in all things. This involves sacrifices "which 
many are unwilling to make. Hence the low 
plane of spiritual life on which so many of us 
are content to live. 

There is no evil which I feel more inclined to 
warn my young Christian readers against, than 
the setting up of a low standard of Christian 
life. Once the glowing and radiant example of 
Christ is lost sight of, and we settle down into a 
stereotyped mediocrity between ungodliness 
and sainthood, Christianity loses all its inspira- 
tion. No great and heroic characters are formed 
under this conception of Christian life. It breeds 
Pharisees, but creates no material for martyr- 
dom. It generates no lofty enthusiasm, such as 
we see in Paul and John and other great heroes 
of faith. It may be zealous of its tithes of 
annise, mint and cummin, but it has no taste 
or capacity for dealing with the weightier prob- 
lems of saving the outcasts, relieving human 
misery, evangelizing the world and elevating 
the race. Men must feel the heart-throbs of 
Christ in their own bosoms, and enter into pro- 
found sympathy with his thought and life, to 
undertake, successfully, these great tasks 
of life. Thus, it is seen, how closely connected 

* Matt. 11:28, 29. 



30 ALONE WITH GOD, 

are individual progress in godliness and the 
general advancement of Christ's kingdom in 
the world . 

In view of these considerations, it is perti- 
nent to ask whether God, having made such 
ample provision for our growth and perfection, 
will hold us guiltless if we fail to make the 
most of our opportunities and develop the 
highest possible type of character? Are we not 
Tinder the same obligations to reach the high- 
est possible mark in Christian attainment that 
we are under to be Christians at all? So it 
seems to us. 

O that all who read these pages may inwardly 
resolve, God helping them, to avail themselves 
more fully of the infinite treasures of truth and 
grace in Christ, that, so filled with all the ful- 
ness of God, they may reach forth strong and 
helpful hands to those who are struggling with 
the adverse currents of evil, and are going down 
in the dark waters of sin ! And may the ful- 
ness of grace and truth wherewith Christ hath 
blessed us, flow out, in life-giving streams, to 
the barren wastes of other lives and make them 
as fruitful gardens of the Lord! 



CHBIST OUB COMPLETENESS. 31 

Prayer. 

Our Father, who art in heaven, how great is 
the love which Thou hast shown to the children 
of men ! ^N'ot only didst Thou so love the world 
as to give Thine only begotten Son to redeem it 
from sin, but in him Thou has made provision 
for all our manifold needs. Thou didst make 
him unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctifica- 
tion and redemption. Forbid, Almighty God, 
that I should despise the riches of Thy grace, 
or be satisfied with my present attainments in 
Christian knowledge and character. Grant unto 
me, and unto all Thy children, according to the 
riches of Thy glory, that we may be strengthen- 
ed with power through Thy Spirit in the inward 
man; that Christ may dwell in our hearts 
through faith; to the end that we, being rooted 
and grounded in love, may be strong to ap- 
prehend, with all the saints, what is tlie breadth 
and length and height and depth, and to know 
the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, 
that we may be filled with all the fulness of 
God. And now, unto him that is able to do 
exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or 
think, according to the power that worketh in 
ns, unto him be glory in the church, and in 
Christ Jesus, unto all generations forever and 
ever. Amen ! 



VI. 

IN GOD'S IMAGE. 



And God said, Let ns make man m onr image, after our 
likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish 
of the sea and the fowl of the air and over the cattle, 
and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing 
that creepeth npon the earth. . And God created man in 
his own image, in the image of God created he him; male 
and female created he them. — Gew. 1 : 26, 27. 

WHAT a stupendous fact! Man created in 
the image of God! How few seem to 
grasp its significance ! What light it throws on 
the great problems of human life ! What a wide 
chasm it makes between man and all lower or- 
ders of created being! Here is a basal fact with- 
out which there can be no true theology or an- 
thropology. Surely here is sacred ground. Let 
us remove the sandals from our feet while we 
meditate reverently on the meaning of this 
marvelous truth. With bowed heads let us in- 
voke the guidance of the Holy Spirit while we 
seek to understand the lesson contained in these 
wonderful words. 

''Let us make man in our image, after our 

(32) 



AY GOD'S IMAGE, 33 

likeness." This is the divine counsel and pur- 
pose wliich lie back of the great mystery of hu- 
man life and all its pages of tragic history. 
It is a purpose formed deliberately and in full 
view of all its mighty consequences — sin, suf- 
fering, sorrow, conflict, death, the incarnation, 
Gethsemane, Calvary, the open Sepulchre, re- 
demption! ''God is love." Out of all this 
struggle, discord and misery, then, there are to 
flow results which will more than vindicate the 
wisdom and goodness of God. Let this sweet 
reflection comfort our hearts until life's conflicts 
shall issue in eternal peace. 

'•And God created man in his own image." 
Is it possible for the human mind to reach the 
pinnacle of thought which these words suggest? 
Xot now; but let us pause reverently before 
them and seek a nearer approach to their full 
meaning. It cannot be that in his bodily or 
fleshly nature man is created in God's image, 
for God is spirit. The human body is not man, 
nor any essential j9ar^ of man. The man exists 
when his body returns to dust whence it came. 
It is the condition of man's earthly existence. It 
is the house of clay in which the real naan 
dwells for the time. What, then, is the real man 
which no mortal eye hath ever seen? Is it not 
the conscious, intelligent ego^ that which thinks, 
chooses, apprehends moral motives, discerns be- 



34 ALONE WITH GOD, 

tween right and wrong and determines what 
motives shall influence its action? If so, then 
man is createdin God's image, (1) intellectually, 
(2) morally, (3) volitionally. The proof of this is 
supplied in every man's own consciousness, in 
connection with God's written revelation of his 
will and character. 

1. That man is created in God's image in his 
mental constitution is evidenced by the fact that 
he can' 'think God's thoughts after him," as Kep- 
ler has so finely said. God's thoughts are man- 
ifest in all the arrangements of the material un- 
iverse. Everywhere there is plan, method, adap- 
tation, design — the manifestations of the divine 
mind. Man can see, appreciate and make prac- 
tical use of these thoughts of God. If his mind 
were not in the image of God, this would not 
be possible. God reasons with men and com- 
municates his will to them on the basis of this 
likeness. Of what use could the ten command- 
ments be to a tribe of chattering apes, or a vil- 
lage of prairie dogs? God can not convey such 
truths to these lower orders of creation, be- 
cause there is nothing in their nature to appre- 
hend such thoughts. A man can convey 
thoughts to the mind of his prattling child that 
can by no means be conveyed to the most sagac- 
ious of beasts, because the child is in his own 
mental image and the beast is not. There are, 



7^Y aOJO'H IMAGE, 35 



of course, thoughts wbicb we cannot communi- 
cate to the undeveloped mind of our children, 
just as there are truths which God cannot re- 
veal to the greatest intellects on earth, because 
they are not yet able to receive them. Like- 
ness does not imply equality, but it does open 
up possibilities of limitless progress. 

2. The proof that man's moral nature is 
after the pattern of God's, may be found in 
the fact that man approves the moral law of 
God, however much he may violate it. Nor 
does he wait until some future judgment for an 
accuser. His own conscience — God' s vicegerent 
in the human breast, as someone has called it — 
the reflection of God's moral nature within 
man — is his accuser. With the majesty and 
authority of a supreme judge, it passes sen- 
tence on us when we violate that law and 
approves us when we yield obedience to it. 
When God says, "Thou shalt not steal," 
"thou shalt not bear false witness," "thou 
shalt not murder," etc., man's moral nature 
approves these expressions of the eternal law 
of right. If man's moral nature were unlike 
that of God, this would not be the case. In 
that event a man might violate the moral law 
of God while acting in perfect harmony with 
the moral law of his own nature. This would 
destroy all idea of personal accountability, and 



36 ALONE WITH GOD. 

render a judgment day impossible. The basis 
of man's accountability to God is the likeness 
of his moral nature to that of God. But if 
man be created in the moral image of God, 
marred though that image be by sin, what 
glorious possibilities of righteousness and hol- 
iness are open before him, and what fearful 
responsibility rests on him who debauches that 
nature ! 

3. That man is endowed with will^ and has 
the power of choosing^ is at once his crown of 
glory and his chief danger. God wills and it 
is done. His will is the law of the universe. 
When He made man in his own image, he 
clothed him with the sublime and fearful pre- 
rogative of determining his own destiny — of 
choosing between motives. Confused with the 
subtle discussions of the schoolmen about "free 
will and necessity," we turn to our own con- 
sciousness as a witness, and it testifies that 
every day and every hour, of our conscious ex- 
istence, we are choosing between motives and 
deciding between this and that course of action. 
And when under the blinding influence of pas- 
sion, appetite or ambition, we yield to the lower 
instead of the higher motive, no plausible 
fallacy about the necessity that controlled our 
action suffices to protect us against the accusa- 
tions of our conscience. We feel and recognize 



IN GOD'S IMAGE, 37 

our guilt. We had the power to choose other- 
wise and we know it, else there would be no 
consciousness of guilt. All this is assumed, 
too, in the provisions which God has made for 
man's salvation. As sin is a matter of choice, 
so is salvation. God saves no man against his 
will. " Choose ye this day whom ye will serve," 
is his command in all times and to all peoples. 
Christ does not cross the threshold of man's 
volition uninvited. ''Behold, I stand at the 
door and knock. If any man hear my voice 
and open the door^ I will come in to him, and 
will sup with him and he with me." * 

Here, then, is the solution of the dark 
problem of the origin of sin, so far as it is 
given us to know it. It is the abuse of freedom 
— of the power of choice. Here, too, is the 
great underljdng reason of the incarnation and 
of the cross. The world must have a more 
perfect representation of God than the sinning 
race exhibited. Christ came as "the effulgence 
of his glory and the very image of his sub- 
stance." t Man, a moral being, and a free, 
self-determining agent, must be won to God by 
moral motives. The stubborn vrill must be 
conquered by supreme love. Hence Gethse- 
mane and Calvary. '^Yhy did not God save 

* Rev. 3:21. fHeb. 1:3. 



38 AI.ONE WITH GOD, 



man by his naked omnipotence, ^vithout the 
awful tragedy of the cross? Because God 
created man in his own image, and such a 
being must be wooed and won by love, not 
driven by force. 

In the light of these truths I can answer the 
question asked by David, who, on surveying 
the magnitude of the material universe, was 
led to inquire, 

" What is man that thon art mindful of him, 
And the Son of man that thou visitest him? " * 

What is he? He is God's child — in his own 
image. That is why he is mindful of him, and 
why he has visited him in the person of Jesus 
Christ. My own parental heart teaches me 
why God would spare no effort to save his lost 
and erring children. O how this magnifies the 
cross and honors man! 

O my soul, consider well thy high origin, the 
image which thou wearest, and weigh the 
responsibilities which come with such high 
endowments! Here, in the hush of this 
solemn stillness, alone with God, let me hear 
thy loving voice, dear Savior, and open the 
doo;* of my heart and let thee in, that I may 
sup with thee and thou with mel 

*Ps. 8:4. 



ly GOD'S IMAGE, 39 

Prayer. 

Almighty God, our most gracious heavenly 
Father, when I consider with what powers and 
capacities Thou didst endow thy creature, man, 
and for what high and holy service Thou hast 
qualified him, I am filled with shame and con- 
fusion at the remembrance of all my sins and 
short-comings. I confess before Thee, my 
transgressions, and all my faults and frailties, 
and beseech Thee, in the name of Thy well- 
beloved Son, to grant me Thy pardoning niercy 
and sustaining grace. I thank Thee for all my 
bodily and mental faculties, and especially for 
that moral nature which most allies me to 
Thee, and which I have so much abused. I 
bless Thy holy name that Thou didst pity us, in 
our fallen condition, and send us Thine only 
begotten Son, full of grace and truth, tlirough 
whom we regain fellowship with Thee, have 
our sinful nature renewed, and enter into Thy 
most blessed service. And O God, be pleased 
to so quicken me by Thy Spirit, and uphold 
me, by Thy right hand, that I may fill the pur- 
pose for which Thou hast created me. Help me 
to use diligently all the means of grace which 
Thou hast provided, and so grow continually 
both in grace and in the knowledge of the 
truth. Enable me to see the folly and the 



40 ALONE WITH GOD. 

emptiness of all earthly allurements which 
would draw me away from Thee. Help me to 
understand more fully that, created as I am in 
Thy image, Thou alone canst satisfy the needs 
of my soul. May this thought of the dignity 
and worth of a human soul not only lead me 
to more earnest efforts for my own salvation, 
but may it give me far greater concern for the 
salvation of others. O Thou blessed Savior, 
who didst stoop from heaven to earth, and 
didst drink the bitter cup of death, for sinful 
and lost humanity, imbue me with more of Thy 
spirit, that I may be willing to enter into the 
fellowship of Thy sufferings and do all in my 
power for the salvation of my fellow-men! 
And finally, O Father, when we have finished 
the work Thou hast given us to do, and it 
seemeth good to Thee to call us home, give us, 
we beseech Thee, an abundant entrance into 
Thine everlasting kingdom through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen I 



vn. 

COMING TO GOD. 



For he that cometh to God mnst believe that he is, and 
that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him. — Heh. 
11:6. 

COMING to God ! What a privilege ! What 
a door of opportunity! If we had 
access to earth's greatest and wisest men, who, 
at any hour, on any day, would hear our 
trouble and perplexity, and give us their sym- 
pathetic counsel and help, would we not very 
highly prize it? If Gabriel and Michael, 
princes of heaven, should declare themselves 
accessible to all of the struggling, tempted, 
and suffering ones of earth, at any time, and 
should signify their willingness to enlist them- 
selves in our behalf, with all their angelic 
power, and superhuman strength, would there 
be many who, knomng this fact, would be in- 
sensible to the advantage thus placed within 
their reach and neglect to avail themselves 
of it? It is only by such gradations that tlie 

human mind can rise to the height of the great 

(41) 



42 ALONE WITH GOD, 

privilege of going to the great and infinite God 
with all our cares and needs, assured of his 
willingness to hear and to answer us in mercy. 
Perhaps the strangest moral phenomenon on 
earth is the general neglect of this royal priv-^ 
ilege of prayer, in Christian lands and even in 
Christian churches. 

What would be thought of a young man, 
who, having a father of abundant means, who 
loved his children tenderly and delighted in 
conferring favors upon them — should be found 
on the streets of a strange city without money, 
food or decent apparel, begging a crust of 
bread from door to door? '' Fool! " naen would 
say who knew the circumstances; "why does 
he not go to his father who is so able and 
anxious to help him? " But would such a 
course be any more strange or unreasonable, 
than that pursued by many professed Chris- 
tians, who, in spiritual poverty and weakness, 
in heart-hunger and soul- weariness, go any- 
where and everywhere else for relief, rather 
than to their heavenly Father, who loves to 
give good things to his children? There is 
only one explanation of the strange fact: 
Unbelief has blinded the heart of such, so that 
they neither realize their spiritual need, nor 
the personal presence and gracious character of 
God. 



CO MIX a TO GOD, 43 

In the passage quoted above two conditions 
are mentioned as essential to coming to God, 
or to prayer, which is coming to God in its 
highest and holiest sense — namely: 1. Belief 
in the existence of a personal God; 2. Belief 
in his gracious character as a Eewarder of 
those who seek him. These conditions are 
grounded in the very nature of prayer. Prayer 
is communion with God. It is going to God 
with all our needs. "It is," as one writer has 
said, "helplessness casting itself on power. It 
is infirmity leaning on strength, and misery 
wooing bliss. It is unholiness embracing 
purity, and hatred desiring love. It is corrup- 
tion panting for immortality, and earth-borns 
claiming kindred in the skies. It is th'e flight 
of the soul to the bosom of God, and the spirit 
soaring upward and claiming nativity beyond 
the stars. It is the restless dove on drooping 
wing, turned to its loved repose. It is the 
soaring eagle mounting upward in its flight, 
and with steady gaze pursuing the track till 
lost to all below. It is the roving wanderer 
looking towards his abiding place, where are 
all his treasures and his gold. It is the pris- 
oner pleading for release. It is the mariner of 
a dangerous sea, upon the reeling topmast, 
descrying the broad and quiet haven of repose. 
It is the soul, oppressed by earthly soarings. 



44 ALONE WITH GOD. 

escaping to a broader and purer sphere, and 
bathing its plumes in the ethereal and eternal." 
Aye, it is the immortal spirit, having become 
conscious of its divine origin, turning to 
God for the deep satisfactions vs^'hich the earth 
cannot give. 

How can such a state or action of the soul 
exist in the absence of true faith — the realiza- 
tion of the existence, personal presence and 
gracious character of God? On the vividness 
and power of such realization the value and 
joy of prayer depend. This fact is an explan- 
ation of much of the joylessness and unsatis- 
factoriness in prayer, of which many complain, 
and which all of us, at times, have exper- 
ienced. We sometimes rush into the presence 
of God, through the form of prayer, without 
suitable preparation for so holy an exercise. 
We have given no time to meditation or to 
self-examination. "We have been too slothful, 
mentally, to make an effort to fix in our minds, 
clearly, the great essential truths on which 
prayer is based : God is. He is a Terson. He 
is here. He has promised to hear me when 
I call on him. He cannot lie. He loves to give 
good gifts to his needy children. He has heard 
and answered prayer. He has answered my 
prayers; He has invited me to ask him for 
what I need. Let the eye of faith rest on 



CO MIX a TO GOD, 45 

these basal truths, and let the mind revolve 
them, until they carry clearness of conviction 
to the heart. Then let the soul look in on its 
own poverty until there is a clear apprehension 
of its needs. Let the voice of conscience be 
heard, in this still hour, that there may be con- 
trition for past sins. Let past mercies and 
answers to prayer be remembered that there 
may be thankfulness, and an assured conviction 
of the value of prayer. From such meditations 
the soul mounts up to God in prayer, as the 
lark rises from the meadow grass and soars 
joyfully towards the sun, singing as it soars. 

No one would think of going into the pres- 
ence of an earthly king or potentate, to seek a 
favor, without proper preparation of his 
apparel, and a clear and distinct understanding 
of the request he was to make. Do we not 
ofttimes treat God with less respect, carrying 
into his presence sins unrepented of, hearts 
ungrateful for his daily mercies and minds pre- 
occupied with worldly thoughts and cares, 
having only a vague and indistinct Idea of the 
favors we need? True, He does not spurn us 
from his presence as an earthly monarch would 
do, because He knoweth our frame and remem- 
bereth that we are dust, yet, by an eternal law 
as unchangeable as God, we are. hindered from 



4G ALOXE WITH^aOD, 



receiving the bJessing we need, because of our 
lack of preparation for receiving it. 

To believe that God is a Rewarder of them 
that seek after him, is to believe in prayer as a 
positive spiritual force in the universe. A 
modern theory of prayer, held by some good 
people, to the effect that its influence is wholly 
subjective, that it is a sort of spiritual exercise 
which makes people better, but that it in no 
way affects God, is doing much, we fear, to sap 
the foundation of prayer and of personal 
piety. This is not the scriptural view oi 
prayer. Above all, it is not in harmony with 
Christ's teaching on the subject of prayer. 
'\Yith him prayer is something more than pioua 
reverie. It is asking God for what we need — 
an intensely practical thing. The examples of 
prayer given in the Bible all confirm this view 
of it. Prayer is, indeed, a lofty exercise of the 
soul, when regarded as communion of the soul 
with a personal God, who deigns to hear our 
cries, and its influence on the mind and heart 
cannot but be exalting and purifying. In no 
other act does the soul assert its divine 
paternity so clearly as in seeking communion 
with and blessings from the Father of Spirits , 
But the value, the dignity, and the power of 
prayer grow out of the fact, that it is the cry 
of a human soul uttered in the ear of i\iQ 



COMIXa TO GOD, 47 

Almighty Father, who will withhold no good 
thing from them that walk uprightly. 

This subjective and defective view of prayer 
which limits its influence to the petitioner, 
rests on the idea that a contrary theory involves 
the changeableness of God, and the instability of 
divine law. But is not this a superficial view 
of the subject? "What if prayer be a divine force, 
ordained of God and having its legitimate force 
in the order of the universe? As another has 
expressed it, prayer has, and God has deter- 
Alined that it should have, a positive and appre- 
ciable influence in directing the course of a 
human life. It is, and God has purposed that it 
should be, a link of connection between human 
mind and divine mind, by which, through his 
infinite condescension, we may actually move 
His will. It is, and God has decreed that it 
should be, a^j>o?^;erin the universe, as distinct, 
as real, as natural and as uniform, as the power 
of gravitation, or of light, or of electricity. A 
man may use it as trustingly and as soberly as 
he would use either of these. It is as trulv 
the dictate of good sense that a man should 
expect to achieve something by praying, as it 
is that he should expect to achieve something 
by a telescope or the mariner's compass, or the 
electric telegraph. 

With such views of God as a Re warder, and 



/ 



48 ALONE WITH GOD, 

of prayer as a force ordained by Him to con- 
nect human needs with divine resources, 
we may ''draw near with boldness unto the 
throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, 
and may find grace to help us in time of 
need.""* Tlianks be unto God that there is a 
way of approach to Him through the blood of 
the everlasting covenant! 



Prayer. 

Almighty God, Our Heavenly Father, 1 do 
believe, not only that Thou art, but that Thou 
art a rewarder .of them that diligently seek 
Thee, and hunger and thirst after Thy right- 
eousness. Therefore do I come to Thee. Not 
because I am pure and strong and whole in 
every part, and can approach unto Thee with a 
perfect heart and a perfect utterance, do I 
come, but because I am sinful, weak and 
wounded by Satan, and feel my need of Thee. 
O Father, Thou wilt not despise our petitions, 
if they be inadequately expressed, for the Holy 
Spirit dost help our infirmities, making inter- 

*Heb. 4:16. 



COMING TO GOD, 49 

cession for us with groanings which cannot be 
uttered in words of human speech. I thank 
Thee, O God, that I can come to Thee 
with humble boldness through the mediation 
of Jesus Christ, and feel that Thou art my 
Father, and that Thou lovest me with a depth 
of tenderness and compassion, which passeth 
knowledge. In my shortsightedness, I do not 
always know what is best for me, but Thou 
knowest, dear Father, and to Thee I commit 
myself. Thy will be done in me, through me 
and with me. I am blind, and -come to Thee 
for sight ; weak, and come to Thee for strength ; 
sinful, and come to Thee for cleansing; weary 
of the world's strife, and come to Thee for 
rest; assailed by trials and temptations, both 
from within and without, I come to Thee for 
refuge, for Thou, O Lord, art my Rock, my 
Fortress and my Defense, in every danger and 
in every trouble. O wilt thou receive me, 
lo^dng Father, through the merits of Jesus 
Christ, Thy Son, and put Thine everlasting 
arms about me and give me peace. By the 
moral beauty and the infinite compassion of 
Jesus, may the whole world be drawn into 
Thy loving embrace, that righteousness and 
peace may reign, triumphant, over all the 
earth, and Thy kingdom come in its fulness of 



50 ALONE WITH GOD, 

power and blessing, and Thy will be done 
on earth even as it is done in heaven. And 
when tills mortal life is ended, we beseech 
Thee, gracious Father, that we may behold 
Thee with open vision, and dwell with Thee 
forever, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. 
Amen ! 



vin. 



LIFE'S PURPOSE, PLAN AND PRIZE 



Brethren, I connt not myself yet to have apprehended: 
"but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, 
and stretching forward to the things which are before, I 
press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling 
of God in Christ Jesus. — Phil. 3: 13-14. 

IN this passage the great apostle lays bare the 
secret of his wonderful life, by revealing 
its purpose, its plan, and the prize which con- 
stituted its motive power. It is a profitable 
thing to come into contact with a great char- 
acter like Paul, whose life has so greatly influ- 
enced the life and thought of the world, and 
to study the secret of his wonderful power. 
It is for this reason that I invite the reader to a 
meditation, with me, on the above passage. 
Especially do I desire my young readers to 
study with me this pregnant utterance of one 
of the earth's greatest heroes. 

Let it be noted, first of all, that this most 
famous preacher and theologian of the First 

Century, did not claim to have reached the 

(51) 



52 ALONJ^ With GOB, 



goal of Christian perfection. He was still 
pressing on toward the mark. Alas for the 
man who imagines he has reached the limit of 
human progress, and that there are no unat- 
tained heights above him! How unlike Paul 
such an one must feel and think! 

Singleness of aim was one of the factors 
which made Paul's life the masterful force it 
was in the world. All men who hope to 
attain large success and usefulness in Christian 
lifx) must be able to say with this hero of the 
cross, "This one thing I do." There is only 
one vocation in life, though there be many 
avocations which men may honestly pursue in 
order to "provide things honest in the sight of 
all men." The real vocation is as high above 
these as the heavens are above the earth. 
There is no true life that finds its highest aim 
in an earthly pursuit, no matter how honorable 
or praiseworthy it may be, in itself considered. 
To be a lawyer, a doctor, a merchant, a farmer, 
a mechanic, an artist, a scientist, simply, is to 
miss the real aim of life. These are but means 
to a higher end and aim, to every one who has 
come to know the meaning of life. That only 
worthy vocation is the attainment of God's 
ideal manhood — the only aim worthy of man's 
origin and nature. This purpose is expressed 
by Paul in the words pressiJig on to the goal,. 



LIFE' 8 PUBPOSE. 53 

Just as the Grecian runner, divesting himself 
of all inipediments, and putting aside all other 
aims, pressed on to the mark, and the crown 
at the end of the race, with all his concentrated 
power and energy, so he determined, leaving 
behind him former aims and ambitions, to 
center all his efforts on the one grand life-task 
of attaining to the divine standard of life and 
character as given in Jesus Christ. This alone 
is the terminus of the Christian race. The 
goal of all worthy human struggle is the 
attainment of the likeness of Jesus Christ. 
The artist who succeeds in placing on the can- 
vas a sublime or beautiful conception, has not 
wrought in vain ; but it is not to be compared 
with an achievement like that which Paul had 
in view. 

But an aim so high as this is not to be real- 
ized without a plan, which cuts off all contrary 
or impeding aims and ends, and concentrates 
all possible power on the one true aim. Such 
a plan was that of Paul — "forgetting the things 
which are behind and stretching forward to 
the things which are before." He realized that 
the consummation of so sublime a purpose, 
involved the renunciation of certain things 
which many are unwilling to surrender, even 
for so great a prize as that which he had in 



54 ALONE WITH GOD. 

view. This plan involves among other things 
the following : 

1. The complete mastery of the lower na- 
ture. ''I buffet my body, and bring it into 
bondage,"* says Paul; and here is a conflict 
worthy of the metal of earth's bravest, truest, 
and manliest men. Here is heroism of the 
noblest type. He who fails here loses life's 
battle. How complete was the self-mastery of 
Jesus! How obedient were all the desires and 
appetites of his bodily nature to the imperious 
behests of his will! When we consider the 
dominancy of fleshly desires and appetites 
among the young men of this age, there is no 
need to wonder that there are not more Pauls 
— more heroes of faith. So few are willing to 
crucify the lusts of the flesh for the sake of 
spiritual gain! 

2. It involves the renunciation of self, and 
the giving forth of all one's powers for the 
Avelfare of others. "What else can Christ mean 
when he declares, "K any man would come 
after mie, let him deny himself, and take up his 
cross, and follow me?" He who lives for self 
has not yet learned the alphabet of Christian- 
ity. What an all-controlling influence, then, 
must the fact of real disciple ship of Christ 

*lCor. 9:27. 



LIFE'S PUBFOSE, 55 

exert over the whole area of one's life, in all 
its aims and activities! Christ enthroned in 
the heart must be the regnant force of our 
lives, if we are indeed his disciples. 

3. And this leads us to say that Paul's plan 
of life will lead us to conform all our life-plans 
to the divine will. One of the problems which 
confront every young man sooner or later, is, 
" AYhat shall be my calling or pursuit in life?" 
This is a very serious question and one which 
can be answered, satisfactorily, only in the 
light of our relationship to Christ. And yet it 
is to be feared that many young Christians 
choose their life-work without special reference 
to the claims which Christ has upon their re- 
deemed lives. A young disciple is bound to 
ask with Paul, ''Lord, what wilt thou have 
me to do?" He cannot but ask himself, "AYhat 
help does humanity most need that I can ren- 
der?" "What can I do that will help most in 
advancing Christ's reign upon earth?" These 
questions, honestly asked and prayerfully con- 
sidered at the threshold of a Christian life, 
cannot but exert a wonderful influence over 
one's whole after-life and character. They 
would shatter many life-plans formed on the 
basis of selfish motives, and dispel many an 
illusory dream of earthly glory to give, in its 
stead, at last, a vision of heavenly glory. As 



56 ALONE WITH a OB, 

the Master himself turned away from tempting' 
offers of the world's power and wealth and 
honor to walk the lowly path of self-denial, 
that he might the better serve humanity, so 
his disciples must needs often refuse the 
prizes which Satan offers in order to walk with 
their Master in the path of unselfish service to 
the race. But as Christ, because of his volun- 
tary humiliation for our sakes, was highly ex- 
alted, and given a name that is above every 
name, so his disciples, who suffer with him 
now, shall, at his coming, reign with him in 
glory. 

4. This "stretching forward to the things 
which are before" involves endless progress. 
Christ is the goal. His perfect, sinless char- 
acter, is the mark towards which we are press- 
ing. Such an aim and such a plan of life 
necessitate constant growth both in grace and 
in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
It forbids that we should rest, contentedly, on 
a low plane of spiritual attainment. What an 
enchanting view of life does Christianity thus 
present to the young! It is not a system of 
dead forms and arbitrary rules, but a glorious 
life of unending progress in knowledge and 
virtue, with Christ as our leader and our goal. 
ISTo one who has ever caught this Christ-idea of 
life, ever asked the impious and audacious 



LIFE'S PUBPOSE, 57 

question, " Is life worth living?" To such an 
one, life is full of inspiration and incentive to 
high endeavor. O! young men of America, 
and of the closing decade of the nineteenth 
century, Christ calls you to the highest tasks 
and the noblest service which ever engaged the 
thought and the energy of mortals. 

**A11 aronnd us, fair with flowers, 
Fields of beauty sleeping lie; 
All around us clarion voices. 
Call to duty stern and high." 

But Paul's life not only had its purpose and 
its plan ; it had its prize also — ''the prize of 
the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." It 
was the joy that was set before Christ that 
enabled him to endure the cross, despising the 
shame. It was the prize at the end of life's 
race that consoled the heart of this great apos- 
tle in the midst of his earthly losses. He 
'' reckoned " that the sufferings of this present 
time " are not worthy to be compared with the 
glory which shall be revealed to usward," * 
and had learned the divine philosophy that 
'' Our light affliction, which is for the moment, 
worketh for us more and more exceedingly an 
eternal weight of glory." f 

The prize of the Christian calling can be 
nothing less than the complete transformation 

* Rom. 8:18. t2 Cor. 4:17, 



58 ALONE WITH GOD. 

into Christ's likeness, both in moral and bodily 
perfection, and the consequent entrance into 
all the blessedness of state and being which 
make heaven. How all the world's most 
coveted prizes dwindle into utter worthlessness 
when compared with this! It was because 
Paul's faith made real to him such a magnifi- 
cent reward of Christian toil and sacrifice, that 
his career was filled with those heroic deeds 
which have made it a beacon light to all suc- 
ceeding generations. 

Here, in the solemn hush of this quiet hour, 
alone with God, dear reader, I would have 
you, on bended knee, adopt Paul's purpose and 
plan of life, and henceforth, with the divine 
aid, press toward the true goal of life, in 
Christ-like service to humanity, until the 
' ' prize of the high calling ' ' shall be awarded 
you by the hand of the glorified Christ. To 
him be glory and dominion both now and for- 
ever. Amen! 



LIFE'S PUBFOSE. 59 



Prayer. 

Our Father who art in heaven, I thank Thee 
for sending Thy Son into this world to show 
us Thy character and will, and to reveal to us 
the value and meaning of life. I thank Thee 
that by his gospel I have been led to become 
his disciple. O how great is my indebtedness 
to Thee, blessed Lord, for the lessons I have 
learned at Thy feet, and the rest I have found 
in wearing Thy yoke. And yet, I realize now 
that I have been following Thee at too great a 
distance. I have not had sufficientlv at heart the 
great law of disciplesliip which Thou hast laid 
down. I have served my own selfish desires 
too much, and have not yielded myself wholly 
to Thee to do Thy will. Forgive my sins and 
my neglect, and here and now, help me to ded- 
icate myself anew to Thy service. Take from 
me, dear Father, all false aims in life, and all 
unworthy ambitions, and make me willing to 
do Thy bidding and serve Thee in whatever 
way I can do most good in the world. May I 
never lose sight of the true goal of life, but 
press forward continually towards it, giving up 
the dead past, and living for the things that 
are before, until I win the prize and am per- 
mitted to wear the crown of righteousness. I 



60 ALONE WITH GOD, 

pray, O Lord of the harvest, that other lives 
which Thou hast redeemed, may be consecrated 
to Thy service until a mighty host shall be 
marshalled for the advancement of Thy king- 
dom. Hear my prayer, gracious Father, accept 
my offered service, ever guide me in paths of 
usefulness and bring me at last, through Jesus 
Christ, into the service of Thy upper sanctu- 
ary, where we shall praise Thee forever. 
Amen I 



IX. 

THE BENEFIT OF PRAYER. 



"What is the Almighty that we should serve him? And 
what profit should we have if we pray unto him?''— Job 21 :lo, 

THESE were the questions of the skeptics in 
Job's day, and they are the questions of 
the skeptics in our own day. It is not related 
that any of Job's unbelieving contemporaries 
ever proposed a prayer-test, in order to demon- 
strate its futility, but that is doubtless owing to 
the fact that the scientific spirit was not so 
strongly developed in Job's day as it is in ours. 
It is characteristic of skepticism to doubt or 
deny the efficacy of prayer, just as it is charac- 
teristic of faith to affirm and illustrate its value. 
The two questions asked in the above quotation 
from Job, have a very clos^ and vital connec- 
tion. Our belief concerning the Almighty, as 
to who, and what kind of Being he is, will 
determine our estimate of the value of prayer. 
If the Almighty be only the sum of all things — 

(61) 



62 ALOXE WITH GOD. 

an impersonal Force that moves the Universe — 
then prayer is indeed meaningless. But if he 
be a Personal God — the Father of Our spirits — 
who is deeply concerned in our welfare, and 
who has revealed himself as a God who heareth 
and answereth prayer, then, prayer has infinite 
value. In this chapter I must assume my read- 
ers to believe in the existence of such a God. 

Prayer implies the existence of a personal 
God and man's personal responsibility to him, 
and can have no meaning, therefore, to unbe- 
lief. But all the great saints of the Bible, and 
of the annals of Christian history, have been 
mighty in prayer. Abraham, Jacob, Moses, 
Joshua, Samuel, David, Elijah, Elisha, Daniel, 
Hannah, Anna, Paul, and the other Apostles, 
and a host of mighty men since their day were 
all characterized by their belief in the power of 
prayer, and by their prayers. The most con- 
spicuous example, however, of the value and 
might of prayer, both in his teaching and prac- 
tice, is our Saviour. Often he spent the whole 
night in prayer — communing with his Father — 
sometimes alone, at other times accompanied 
by a few of his most trusted disciples. Leaving 
the busy streets, or dismissing the thronging 
multitude, at eventide, he was accustomed 
to go into the mountain solitude, apart from 
the gaze of the curious, and pour out his 



THE BENEFIT OF PBAYEB. 63 

troubled soul in the ear of the infinite and all- 
loving Father. It was on such an occasion, 
while praying on the mountain top, with Peter, 
James and John, that he was transfigured 
before them — a most significant and suggestive 
fact, indicating that prayer is that attitude of 
the soul toward God, in which he has chosen to 
communicate his transfiguring grace and glory 
to men. 

When Jesus, by his example and teaching, 
had impressed his disciples with the value of 
prayer, they besought him to teach them how 
to pray. In answer to this request, he gave 
them some important rules and a form of 
prayer. In the face of such facts as these, what 
do all the objections which skeptics have urged 
against prayer amount to? What do I care for 
all that the Voltaires, Paines and Ingersolls of 
the world may say against the philosophy or prac- 
tical utility of prayer, when Jesus prayed con- 
stantly, and taught his disciples to pray? Did 
not Christ come from the bosom of the Father, 
and is he not higher authority on the value and 
nature of prayer than the combined wisdom of 
all the skeptical philosophers of the world? 
We may, therefore, dismiss at once, as unworthy 
of serious consideration all the objections which 
have been urged against prayer, on scientific or 
rationalistic grounds, and address ourselves to 



64 ALONE WITH GOD, 

the consideration of the benefits to be derived 
from it. 

In the first place it should be understood that 
prayer is not only commanded by the highest 
authority, and commended by the highest 
examples, but it is rooted and grounded in 
man's moral and religious nature. It is impos- 
sible to conceive of the exercise of man's relig- 
ious nature without prayer, in some of its ele- 
ments, as invocation, supplication, intercession 
and thanksgiving. But why should man have 
a religious nature if it is to find no natural 
expression? Prayer, then, is essential to the 
integrity of man's constitution as a moral and 
religious being. To oppose it, therefore, is to 
make war on human nature as well as on a 
divine ordinance, and to neglect it is to slight 
both a supreme duty and a royal privilege. 

In attempting to enumerate the blessings 
which come to us through prayer, one is at a 
loss to decide where to begin or to end the cata- 
logue. The best that can be done is to offer a 
few generalizations, and leave each individual 
reader to fill up the outline from his own expe- 
rience. Let us consider prayer then in a few 
of its more important aspects. 

1. As a means of spiritual growth. By spir- 
itual growth I mean the development of the 
religious nature — the increase of faith, hope and 



THE BENEFIT OF PBATEB, 65 

love, of patience, purity of heart and moral 
strength. The relation of prayer to all these 
elements of Christian character is obvious. 
They are of heavenly implantation in the heart, 
through the agency of the Holy Spirit. But 
our Saviour taught his disciples that the Holy 
Spirit is given by his Father to those that ask 
him, saying, "If ye then, being evil, know how 
to give good gifts unto your children, how 
much more shall your heavenly Father give the 
Holy Spirit to them that ask him." * Here 
all "good gifts" seem to be summed up, by* 
Christ, in the Holy Spirit, through whose ten- 
der brooding over the human heart, all beauti- 
ful graces and holy purposes grow into strength 
and vigor. Prayer is that exercise of the soul 
by which it tries its wings in the upper air 
and seeks acquaintanceship with God. 
Under its holy influence all that is truest and 
noblest in human nature is quickened into new 
life and power. "Prayer has a subjective value. 
It is necessary to individual piety, produces 
solemnity, enlightens and quickens the con- 
science, teaches dependence, gives true views of 
God, and produces such a change in us as ren- 
ders it consistent for him to change his course 
toward us." 

5 *Luke 11: 13. 



66 ALONE WITH GOD. 

2. As a means of forgiveness. The adaptation 
of prayer to our human nature is seen in the 
fact, that, although Christians, while in the 
flesh we are liable to sin, and that God has 
ordained prayer and confession of our sin, as 
the means of obtaining forgiveness. There is 
no other posture of the soul that fits it to be the 
recipient of forgiveness, but that of prayer. To 
pray truly and sincerely for forgiveness, is to be 
penitent for the sin we have committed, to feel, 
in some measure, the enormity of our guilt, and 

'to submit ourselves, once more, to the divine 
government. This condition of the soul can 
only find expression in prayer. Who that real- 
izes how our unforgiven sins separate us from 
God, and hinder communion with him, can fail, 
then, to appreciate the value of prayer, by 
which we "receive mercy and find grace to help 
in time of need?" * 

3. As a means of supplying our needs, A 
prominent feature in prayer is petition^ or ask- 
ing God for the tilings that we need. I*^or do 
the scriptures put any limit on these petitions, 
as onr weak faith often does, shutting us up 
simply to spiritual blessings, and leaving out 
that large section of our lives which has mate- 
rial needs and necessities. God has respect to 
our temporal as well as to our spiritual needs. 

* Heb. 4: 16. 



THE BENEFIT OF PBAYEB, 67 

He has taught us to pray for our daily food. If 
a business man reaches a crisis where a certain 
amount of money is necessary to save his busi- 
ness from wreck, let him not hesitate to ask 
God in some way to grant him the favor, if the 
business is such that he is sure it meets the 
divine approval. Many a pious man can testify 
that he has found God's promise to hold good 
in temporal matters as well as in tilings spiritual. 
We are not to make the mistake, however, of 
placing as much value on these temporal gifts 
as upon spiritual blessings. Nor can we always 
feel as sure that the temporal gift we ask is best 
for us, as when we ask for spiritual blessings, 
but it is right to make our requests, subject to 
the will of God. But what a blessed boon it 
is, that in every emergency of our lives, it is 
our privilege to ask help from God: in sick- 
ness, to ask for health; in danger, to ask for 
protection ; in temptation and trial, to ask for 
strength ; in moments of perplexity and doubt, 
to ask for wisdom and guidance I 

4. As a means of comfort and soul-rest. 
Reflect a moment on the nature of this present 
life, with all its cares, bitter disappointments, 
sad bereavements, anxieties for those we love, 
and its burdens of disease, poverty and age, 
and consider how direful man's condition with- 
out the sweet solace of prayer. In such a 



68 ALONE WITH GOD. 

world as this who can estimate the value of 
such promises as these: "In nothing be anx- 
ious ; but in everything by prayer and supplica- 
tion with thanksgiving let your requests be 
made known unto God. And the peace of God 
which passeth all understanding, shall guard 
your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesiis. ' ' ^ 
''Casting all your anxiety upon him, because ha 
careth for you."t A heart that is cold and cal- 
lous, and insensible to the sorrows and woes of 
the world, and to its own perils, may not feel 
the need of prayer; but a heart, tender and 
responsive to others' woes, and realizing the 
awful peril of sin, and with a sympathy so deep 
and wide that like the Master it can weep over 
the sins and sorrows of others, would break but 
for the solace and strength found in prayer. 
Who of us that have known much of life's bitter 
experiences, have not felt, at times, that if we 
could not go into the solitude of our own cham- 
ber, and there, alone with Ood^ pour out our soul 
to him, and seek his divine sympathy and 
strength, we would break down under the 
heavy burden? And who of us, in such an 
hour, when all the world has seemed dark to us, 
has ever gone to him in vain? Has not our 
experience enabled us to sing, 

* Phil. 4: 6, 7. tlPet,5:7. 



THE BENEFIT OF PBAYEB, 69 

"O how praying rests the weary! 

Prayer will change the night to day; 
So, when seems life dark and dreary, 

Don't forget to pray.'* 

What profit in prayer? Ask the toil-worn 
pilgrim, who, staff in hand, is nearing the gates 
of the golden city, and whose hoary head reflects 
the light of the eternal day, and he will tell you 
that without it he could not have climbed the 
difficult paths of self-denial a^id patient endur- 
ance by which he has reached the precincts of 
the heavenly city. Ask the battle-scarred hero 
of the cross, who, after many conflicts, is about 
laying down life's burden to take up the crown, 
and he will tell you that by prayer he gained 
the victory in every contest. Ask that aged 
mother in Israel, on whose brow there sets the 
jewel of heavenly peace, and on whose sweet 
face there shines the light, 

"That never shone on land or sea," 

how she has brought out of all her life- 
struggles and sorrows, the serenity of spirit and 
the triumphant faith which awaits with fond 
expectation the reunion of loved ones gone 
before on that ''far-off shore," and she will tell 
you that prayer has sweetened all the bitter 
Avaters of life for her, and lightened all her bur- 
dens. 
Ask the great spirits — the heroic men and 



70 ALONE WITH GOD, 

women — who are now at the front, in the thick 
of life's battles, bearing the sneers and re- 
proaches of the world as the representatives of 
the great social, political arid religious reforms 
of our time, whence they derive strength and 
courage to oppose popular evils, and endure 
poverty and scorn for their advocacy of right 
and truth, and they will toll you that their 
IDower cometh from above, and is received 
through prayer. 

And let me say to the young people who may 
read these pages, if any of you entertain the 
idea that you can very greatly influence this 
Avorld for good by any brilliancy of genius, 
wealth of talent, or capacity for work, which 
you may possess, aside from the aid which you 
can only receive through prayer, you have 
greatly over-estimated your own strength, aad 
under-estimated the magnitude of the difficulties 
in the way. ''Our sufficiency is of God," and 
it is only as we link hands with him, and are 
upheld by him that we can make our lives a 
great potency for good in the world. Learn 
this, young friends, and if you are proposing to 
yourselves great life- tasks, which will enroll 
your names among earth's benefactors, or to 
lift your characters in any wise above the com- 
mon mass, make up your minds to spend much 
of your time in company with God, seeking his 



THE BENEFIT OF PBAYEB. 71 



counsel, becoming imbued with his Spirit, and 
being conformed to his image. Prayer is the 
golden key which unlocks the treasure-vaults of 
heaven. 

Truly, as England's Poet Laureate has said: 

More things are wrought by prayer 

Than this world dreams of. Wherefore let thy voice 
Rise like a fountain for me night and day. 

For what are men better than sheep or goats 
That nourish a blind life within the brain, 

If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer 
Both for themselves and those who call them friend? 

For so the whole round earth is every way 
Bound by gold chains about the feet of God. 



Prayer. 

O Thou God of all consolation and comfort, 
whose delight it is, out of Thine infinite fulness 
to satisfy the wants of all Thy creatures, and to 
grant peace and strength to the troubled hearts 
of all Thy children, we thank Thee that Thou 
hast ordained prayer as the method of our 
soul's access to Thee, and by which we may 
find the rest and peace which we so much need. 
It is with gratitude and thankfulness that I 
recall the times when Thou hast heard the voice 
of my supplication and hast lightened my bur- 
den and hast given new strength to my faint- 



72 ALONE WITH GOD. 

ing heart. Surely, O Lord, Thou hast shown 
Thyself to be a present help in time of trouble. 
"When in sickness, Thou hast raised me up; 
"when in doubt and perplexity, Thou hast 
guided my steps ; when in sorrow and mental 
distress, Thou hast breathed upon my soul 
Thine infinite peace ; when in sickness and fear 
I have called upon Thy name, Thou hast given 
me health and courage. So that I may exclaim 
with the psalmist, "Blessed be the Lord, 
because he hath heard the voice of my suppli- 
cations. My heart hath trusted in him and I 
am helped. Therefore my heart greatly rejoic- 
eth; and with my song will I praise him." O 
help me, heavenly Father, more and more to 
realize the blessedness of prayer, and learn to 
come boldly unto a throne of grace that I may 
obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of 
need. In all the trials, temptations and sor- 
rows which may await me, may I always resort 
to Thee as my surest defense, my consolation 
and abiding Friend, and my souPs chief delight. 
And this I ask in the name of Christ. Amen ! 



X. 

HINDRANCES TO PRAYER. 



Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss.— James 4:3, 

SO MANY and so great are the benefits of 
prayer, that no one who appreciates them 
can fail to be interested in the question as to 
what are some of the chief hindrances to its 
exercise. It is a common experience with most 
of us, that when we have tried to pray, there 
has been the absence of that joy, comfort and 
peace which true prayer always brings to the 
soul. For this there must be some cause, and 
the reason will always be found in us, not in 
God, who is always gracious, and whose ears 
are ever open to the cry of the righteous. It is 
my purpose now to seek for some of these 
causes that hinder prayer, and make it unavail- 
ing. 

1. The first of these is impenitence. The 
impenitent man never prays. When it was 
said of Saul of Tarsus, ''Behold he prayeth!" 

there was furnished the highest possible proof 

(73) 



74 ALOXE WITH GOD. 

that he was penitent for his past sins, and was 
a changed man, no longer to be dreaded and 
shunned as a persecutor of Christ. This is 
because prayer implies certain conditions that 
cannot co-exist with impenitence, such as faith 
in God, a proper reverence for his name, con- 
sciousness of our spiritual needs, and a hunger- 
ing and thirsting after righteousness. The 
impenitent man has no taste for j^rayer. The 
desire to pray is about the first sign of true 
penitence. He that has no relish for prayer, 
when alone with God, and feels no impulse to 
lift his soul up to God, in confession, adoration, 
thanksgiving and petition, may well be alarmed 
at his spiritual state. How dare such an one 
call himself a disciple of the praying Christ? 

Sometimes the soul is driven to prayer by a 
sense of duty or obligation, or, it may be, of 
habit, and experiences no spontaneity of emo- 
tion, no joy, no strength of desire, no conscious- 
ness of personal communion with God. The 
words we utter, in a mechanical way, express 
desires which our souls do not feel, and they 
seem to rise no higher than our heads. This 
experience is not infrequently described as God 
withdrawing his face from us, but a moment's 
reflection must convince us that the real cause 
of this state of things is to be found in us, not 



HINDBAXCES TO PBAYEB, 75 

• 

in God. "Behold, the Lord's hand is not short- 
ened, that it cannot save ; neither his ear hea^'y, 
that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have 
separated between you and your God, and your 
sins have hid his face from you, that he will not 
hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, 
and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have 
spoken lies, your tongue muttereth wicked- 
ness." * 

Nor is it true to suppose that nothing but 
gross immorality could thus hinder our prayers. 
The soul, like the eye, is delicately organized, 
aud a very subtle form of sin may suffice to 
quench the spirit of prayer. ''It does not 
require," says a recent writer of national 
renown, ''what the world would call a great 
sin, to break up the serenity of the soul in its 
devotional hours. The experience of prayer 
has delicate complications. A little thing, 
secreted there, may dislocate its mechanism and 
arrest its movement. * * Even a doubtful 
principle of life, harbored in the heart, is peril- 
ous to the peacefulness of devotion. May not 
many of us find the cause of our joylessness in 
prayer, in the fact that we are living upon 
some unsettled principle of conduct? I appre- 
hend that there is very much of suspense of 
conscience among Christians, upon subjects of 

* Isaiah 59: 1-3. 



76 ALOXE WITH GOD, 



practical life on which there is no suspense of 
action,'''' * 

2. Wrong motives in prayer^ often vitiate 
them. An instance of this is given in the text 
quoted at the head of this chapter. ''Ye ask 
and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye 
may spend it in your pleasures.'''' One may ask 
God for wealth, that he may excel his neigh- 
bors in luxurious living and gratify a whole 
brood of fleshly desires. Another may ask for 
health or position, that he may use these things 
for his own pleasure. It is possible, even, to 
desire spiritual power and unction, the gift of 
tongues in prayer and preaching, in order that 
we may thereby gain conspicuity and the honors 
of the world, along with our increased useful- 
ness. Alas! how deceitful is the human heart! 
And how seldom do we stop to analyze our 
motives in asking God for what we desire! 
!Not seldom would we feel abashed at our 
temerity did we always face squarely the real 
motives that prompt many of our petitions. 

3. Insincerity, This may seem to be a grave 
charge to bring against the prayers of Chris- 
tians, but we venture to mention it among the 
actual causes which prevent many of our prayers 
from being answered. What I mean by it is 
that we often ask for things which we do not 

* Austin Phelps, in "The Still Hour." 



HINDBAXCES TO PBAYEB. 77 

really desire. Our judgment is convinced that 
the things we ask for are things we ought to 
desire, and that Christians ought to pray for, 
and so we utter with our lips petitions which 
our hearts do not endorse. AYhen we pray for 
the spirit of self-denial, for instance, do we 
always really desire that this spirit shall so pos- 
sess us that we may be willing to give up all 
for Christ's sake? When we ask tliat all obsta- 
cles to Christian growth and usefulness be 
taken out of our way, do we mean all that this 
may involve? Suppose it means poverty, trials 
and sore chastening — are we ready to endure 
these things for the sake of obtaining higher 
spiritual good? Here again I cannot forbear 
quoting from that prince of devotional writers, 
of whose classic pages I have availed myself 
elsewhere. * 

''Many of the prime objects of prayer enchant 
us only in the distance. Brought near to us, 
and in concrete forms, and made to grow life- 
like in our conceptions, they very sensibly abate 
the pulse of our desire to possess them, because 
we cannot but discover that, to realize them in 
our lives, certain other darling objects must be 
sacrificed which we are not yet willing to part 
with. The paradox is true to the life, that a 
man may even fear an answer to his prayers. 

* Austin Phelps. 



78 ALONE WITH GOD. 

* * He has not really desired that God would 
^ive heed to him, for any other- purpose than to 
give liiui an hour of jjleasurable devotional 
excitement. That his objects of prayer should 
actually be inwrought into his character, and 
should live in his own consciousness, is by no 
means the thing he has been thinking of, and 
is the last thing he is ready just now to wish 
for." 

4. False views of prayer. In another chapter 
I have given some attention to that theory of 
prayer which makes it wholly subjective in its 
effect. It is easy to see how such a theory, 
once fully accepted, would undermine faith in 
±\\Q value of prayer, and gradually lead to its 
neglect. That which gives an inexpressible 
eharm, and infinite value to prayer is the plain, 
scriptural idea, that it is a child of God talking, 
out of his heart, to his loving heavenly Father, 
who inclines his ear and listens to his. earth- 
born child with a deep and tender concern. 
Hold on to that simple faith, dear reader, if 
you would value rightly the ''sweet hour of 
prayer," whether it be alone with God, or in 
the assembly of his saints. 

Another mistaken view of prayer is, that if 
God does not answer us in the way which we 
expect and desire, and at the time when we 
think he ought to answer, that he does not hear 



HIXDllANCES TO PBAYEB. 79 

us at all and our prayer is vain. Hence we 
cease to pray. This is a mistaken view of 
prayer, (lod has not placed in our hands so 
dangerous a weapon as prayer would be if it at 
once secured what we asked and in the way and 
at the time we desire. This would be to abdi- 
cate his throne in favor of man, and allow us 
to exercise unlimited power to our own destruc- 
tion. God is too good and too wise to do that. 
He knows what is best for us, and his goodness 
and mercy are as manifest in withholding many 
of the things we ask for, as in granting others. 

''We, ignorant of ourselves, 
Beg often our own harms, which the wise powers 
Deny us for our good; so find we profit, 
By losing our prayers." — Shakespeare. 

It was this erroneous view of prayer that led 
some people to doubt the efficacy of prayer, 
because the life of President Garfield was not 
spared in answer to the prayers of the nation. 
More than once it has happened, in my own 
experience, that God has answered my prayers 
in a way directly opposite from that which I 
expected and hoped for. At the thne the 
answers were not recognized, as such, but in 
the light of subsequent events it became clear 
to me that God had heard my prayer and had 
answered me in his own wav, which of course 
was far better than my way. That this is 



80 ALONE WITH GOD, 

equally true in many instances where we can- 
not so clearly recognize it, does not admit of 
doubt. ' ' For my thoughts are not your thoughts^ 
neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, 
so are my ways higher than your ways and my 
thoughts than your thoughts. '^ * 

5. Environment, By this convenient word I 
mean that the surroundings and associations of 
Christians, growing out of their business or 
social companionships, are often unfavorable to 
the devotional spirit and to the habit of prayer. 
A man whose business throws him into associa- 
tion with men whose controlling motives are 
avarice, ambition and worldly pride, must bean 
unusually devout man not to be injuriously 
affected thereby. If we add to this what is not 
infrequently true, that the business itself, in its 
methods at least, is of doubtful moral propriety, 
we have a combination of circumstances in 
which the spirit of devotion cannot thrive. It 
is certain to be frozen out. In such cases a 
man has to choose between his business and his 
soul. He cannot serve God and Mammon, and 
must make his choice between them. 

Young Christians often find that their social 
comradeship is of such a character as to disin- 
cline them to personal piety and to devotional 

* Isaiah 55; 8,9. 



HIXDBAXCES TO FBAYEB. 81 

habits. They lose their relish for the lone hour 
with God, or for the house of God, just in pro- 
portion as they drink into the spirit of their 
companions. As soon as this is discovered, 
tliere ought to be no hesitation as to the safe 
course to pursue. Let there be a change of 
associates. If this is not possible, see that there 
is a change in the character of the amusements 
and entertainments indulged in. Why should 
not Christian young people become a positive, 
moulding force in society, so reconstructing its 
social life as to make it intellectually and mor- 
ally helpful? If Christians are ''the light of the 
world," they should let their light shine^ and 
not hide it under a bushel. 

6 . Lack of proper r)iental and spiritual food, 
Not more is a sound and healthful body depend- 
ent on well prepared, nutritious food, than is 
the mind and heart on suitable mental and spir- 
itual nutriment. Much of the reading done by 
the young people of to-day is a positive hin- 
drance to spiritual and mental growth, and the 
devotional spirit withers and dies under its 
influence. I feel that I should be recreant to 
my duty to the young people of this generation 
not to warn them against that species of litera- 
ture wliich creates a disrelish for sober reading, 
especially for the Scriptures, and is fatal to the 

devotional spirit. I make no indiscriminate 
6 



82 ALONE WITH GOD. 

Avar against iiction, much of which is healthful 
and helpful, but there can be no doubt that the 
habit of indiscriminate reading of light and fic- 
titious literature has sapped the spiritual life 
and vigor of many Christians, both young and 
old. 

In the cities it is not uncommon that the 
daily papers, with their record of crimes of all 
sorts and their sensational news and social gos- 
sip, furnish the staple mental food for many 
older people, even members of evangelical 
churches. Is it any wonder that this class of 
people have no time for family worship, and for 
private devotions, and no relish for either? 
How could it be otherwise? They do not read 
the Bible with any regularity, and often read no 
religious papers or books. Their spiritual 
nature dies of starvation, or of poisonous food. 
Set this down as true: The daily ^ reverent 
reading of Gocfs word is essential to the mainte- 
nance of devotional habits. It alone is capable of 
creating the atmosphere in which the spirit of 
true piety is fostered and sustained. Hence 
it will be found universal, we think, that the 
neglect of prayer is evermore accompanied with 
the neglect of Bible reading and study. 

7. Lack of meditation and self-examination. 
Though I have adverted to this subject else- 
where, I mention it here among the causes that 



HIXDBANCES TO PBAYEB. 83 

hinder prayer, or make it formal and joyless. 
Prayer, to be acceptable to God, must be related 
to the soul's needs. It must be the sincere 
expression of the soul's Inmost desires. But 
unless we pause awhile, in the quiet of our own 
chamber, and introspect our hearts and lives, 
and examine ourselves in the light of God's 
word, there can be no intelligent appreciation 
of our needs and no fervency of desire for those 
spiritual blessings which alone can satisfy the 
soul. My own experience and observation lead 
me to believe that, ordinarily, prayer lacks both 
in fervor and definiteness when it is not pre- 
ceded by a few moments of thoughtful medita- 
tion in connection with the reading of the Scrip- 
tures. I am also convinced that one of the 
great evils of our modern life, is that we have 
allowed business, social pleasures, and other 
things to rob us of the quiet hour when we can 
be alone ^vith God in private devotion. With- 
out this solitude, and the quiet meditation for 
which it gives opportunity, there are apt to be 
wanting two important elements of successful 
prayer, namely: definiteness in our i^etitions ^ and 
intensity of desire. 



84 ALONE WITH GOD. 

Prayer . 

O Thou who hearest prayer, do Thou help us 
to pray aright. We know not what we should 
pray for as we ought, but we rejoice that the 
Holy Spirit helpeth our infirmities and inter- 
prets our inarticulate groanings before the 
throne of God. Graciously aid us, O God, in 
putting away from our thoughts and our lives 
all those things which hinder prayer and pre- 
vent our Christian growth and usefulness. 
Help us to come before Tiiee with clean hands 
and with pure hearts, and to seek those bless- 
ings which will enrich our spiritual life and 
adorn our characters. O do Thou search us, 
and if there be anyevilwayinus, any unworthy 
motive, any secret sin, any unholy desire, 
which doth render our prayers unacceptable to 
Thee, enable us to purge ourselves from all 
such faults, that our Communion with Thee 
may be sweet and profitable to us. Remove our 
transgressions far from us, O Lord, and restore 
unto us the joys of thy salvation. So shall we 
call upon Thy name with gladness and Thou 
shalt answer us in showers of descending 
mercy. And this we ask in Christ's name. 
Amen I 



XI. 



PRAYER AS A HABIT OF THE SOUL. 



Pray without ceasing.— 1 Thess. 5 : 13. 

AS it is not possible to be always in an atti- 
tude of formal prayer, some kave found 
difficulty ■with the above passage, while the 
experience of others has interpreted to them 
the apostle's meaning. One important aspect 
of prayer is communion with God, and tliis 
state or condition of the soul is the normal 
one for a Christian. The passage above cited 
means, no doubt, that this attitude should 
become the fixed habit of the soul. Prayer, 
in this s-ense, is not to be regarded simply as 
a distinct religious exercise having its own set 
time, but as a process woven into the very text- 
ure of the Christian's mind, and covering the 
whole domain of life in all its lenofth and 
breadth. "Like the golden thread in a tis- 
sue," to use another's simile, "it frequently 
disappears beneath the common threads, and 

is hidden from the eye ; yet nevertheless it is 

(85) 



86 ALOXE WITH GOD. 

substantially tliere. Like a stream running 
underground for a certain period of its course, 
and then reappearing," so underneath the sur- 
face of our every day life, there may run a con- 
tinuous stream of prayer. 

One does not have to live a Christian life 
very long in the midst of life's labors, tempta- 
tions and conflicts, until he learns that the 
stated, formal prayers, morning and evening, 
though indispensable, are by no means ade- 
quate for the needs of the heart, and he will 
soon And himself sending upwards, all through 
the busy day, brief, unspoken petitions or 
thanksgivings, whispered only in the secret 
chamber of the soul but heard in heaven. What 
a relief this is to the Christian bearing special 
burdens of sorrow, of temptation or of anxiety, 
every faithful disciple can testify. This is 
what is called ejaculatory prayer. It waits on 
no times or seasons. It calls for no cessation 
of the busy labor of the day. It depends not on 
solitude or silence. It leaps from the heart as 
we travel along the crowded mart, or sit con- 
versing with friends, or pause a moment before 
some perplexing question on which we need 
light from above. 

It would be a great mistake to confine prayer 
to particular times and places, instead of allow- 
ing it to spread over all the day and all our 



PBAYEB AS A HABIT, 87 

conscious hours, and to rise up in a spontane- 
ous stream towards heaven whenever the 
opportunity or the need of it is suggested. 
These ejaculatory prayers, however, are not to 
take the place of our stated times of prayer. 
Rather, they prepare us for such seasons of 
prayer and make them far more enjoyable. 
The heart' that goes from morning until eA^en- 
ing without once lifting itself up in the inter- 
stices of business, toward God, in a silent peti- 
tion or an inarticulate word of thanks, will not 
come to the evening worship with that keen 
spiritual relish which the soul experiences that 
often during the day has found time to think 
of God and offer its loving homage to him. 

AYhen the heart is beset with anxieties, and 
burdened with care, it cannot well wait for 
relief until the regular hour for prayer arrives, 
but goes at once to God for his strength and 
guidance. To all such hearts — and alas! how 
many of them there are! — the habit of ejacula- 
tory prayer is a blessing of inestimable value. 
By means of it, they are enabled, right in the 
stress of the emero^encv, to enter into the closet 
of their own heart, shut the door, and speak 
into the ear of a sympathetic and Infinite 
Father. Here they find refuge in the midst of 
the storm, and a haven in which they may 
anchor and find rest and peace. The case of 



88 ALONE WITH GOD. 

Nehemiali, in the presence of Artaxerxes the 
king, when asked to state what he wished, is 
an instance of the value of this kind of prayer. 
In a moment of supreme interest to the affairs 
of his people, he carries his cause to God and 
then boldly requests that he be permitted to 
return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and 
city, which is readily granted. * How brief 
this prayer must have been, and yet how all- 
potent in its results! Blessed is the man who 
has such a command over his mind, and such a 
habit of prayer, that in these sudden emer- 
gencies of life he can instantly withdraw into 
the recesses of his own heart and send uj)ward 
a prayer to God! Those who travel in foreign 
lands, far from loved ones, esteem it a great 
privilege, and a great achievement of modern 
science, that they can communicate in a few 
moments, by means of the sub-marine cable 
and telegraph system, with the dear ones at 
home. And so it is. But how much greater 
the privilege, and more marvelous the fact, that 
we can on any part of the earth, in mid-ocean 
or in the wilds of an African forest, in a 
moment send a message to God and receive his 
response ! But can we always know that God 
hears us? Yes, if we ask according to God's 
will, for ''this is the boldness which we have 

* Nehemiah 2: 1-9. 



PBAYEB AS A HABIT. 89 



toward him, that if we ask anything according 
to his will he heareth us ; and if we know that he 
heareth us whatsoever we ask, we know that 
we have the petitions which we have asked of 
him." * Whether the petition be for thyself, 
or for one near and dear to thee, know that it 
has been heard, and if in accordance with God's 
will, has been granted. 

Happily, the value of prayer does not depend 
on the number of words we employ, but upon 
the degree of earnestness and faith with which 
it is presented. "Lord, save, or I perish I" 
was quite sufficient to bring the Master to 
Peter's side, on that stormy night on Galilee. 
Could we always pray thus, we would have less 
occasion to mourn over unanswered prayers. 
But let us not think of brief, ejaculatory prayer 
as appropriate only to sudden emergencies, or 
times of sore trial. To what Christian, given 
to prayer and communion with God, does there 
not come, often during the busiest days, a sweet 
remembrance of God's loving kindness, and 
merciful providence? How delightful it is, at 
such times, to lift the heart to God in a moment 
of thanksgiving and adoration ! And this habit 
tends to bring to our remembrance the unnum- 
bered benefits which we receive from the hand 
of God, and which we are too prone to forget. 

* Johns: 14,15. 



90 ALONE WITH GOD. 

Thankfulness for mercies received is the best 
preparation of heart for seeking additional 
favors. The impulse to offer thanksgiving to 
God, or to present a petition to Him, comes 
from the Spirit of God, and should not be 
resisted, no matter what our surroundings may- 
be at the time, as it need not interfere with the 
demands of business or of social intercourse. 

These reflections, it is hoped, will help us to 
understand better what the apostle means by 
his exhortation to "pray without ceasing." 
Prayer, it is seen, is not a thing to be shut up 
in one corner of the day, or limited to a brief 
space in the morning and evening ; but it is a 
pervading habit of the soul which is to shed its 
holy and hallowing influence over all the hours, 
and to maintain unbroken communion with 
God. Such a habit once formed, it would be 
comparatively easy to adopt that other law of 
life laid down by the same apostle, that "what- 
soever ye do, in word or in deed, do all in the 
name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God 
the Father through him." * This passage is 
specially significant in connecting our religious 
life with our other every-day duties, and min- 
gling prayer with those deeds which are related 
directly to the material side of our nature. 
This shows that Christianity is not a religion 

*Col. 3: 17. 



FBAYEB AS A HABIT, 91 

for the closet, only, but that it is intended to 
sanctify all the relations and duties of this pres- 
ent life. 



92 ALONE WITH GOD. 



Prayer. 

Almighty God, who hast manifested Thyself 
unto us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, vouch- 
safe unto me, I beseech Thee, the spirit of 
prayer and of supplication. May there be such 
strong afS^nity between my soul and Thee, that 
prayer shall become a most delightful habit of 
my life, and I may be able to say with Thy 
servant of old, "I will trust in the Lord at all 
times; His praise shall continually be in my 
mouth." Wilt Thou give me such a sense of 
Thy gracious care, O God, and of thy amazing 
mercy to me in Jesus Christ, that my heart 
m.ay overflow with thankfulness to Thee, often, 
in the busy hours of the day ; and if any great 
trial or sorrow come upon me, help me instinct- 
ively to fly to Thee for refuge, as the bird flies 
to its mountain with the coming of the storm, 
or the darkness. For the blessed privilege of 
instant and constant access to Thee in prayer, 
I do most sincerely thank Thee, and beseech 
Thee to help me wisely and reverently to 
avail myself of it in every time of need, and at 
every impulse of Thy spirit. Hear my prayer 
for Christ's sake. Amen! 



xn. 

WATCHFULNESS. 



Keep thy heart with all diligence ; 

For out of it are the issues of life.— Pror. 4: 23, 

"What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch 
and pray that ye enter not into temptation ; the spirit indeed 
is willing, but the llesh is weak.— il/a«. 26: 40, 

THE command to ''watch" may be said to 
be one of the key-words of Christ to his 
disciples. The duty of prayer is not more 
clearly emphasized in the New Testament than 
that of watchfulness. The command means 
wakefulness and alertness^ as against moral 
drowsiness and indifference. It implies that 
we are in the enemy's country, in the midst of 
foes, and need to be constantly on guard. The 
command to watch,, so often urged on Christians, 
may be regarded as including at least the fol- 
lowing duties : 

1. Self-examination, Perhaps there is no 
precaution for spiritual safety more frequently 

neglected, and with more disastrous results, 

(93; 



94 ALONE WITH GOD, 

than the faithful examination of one's inmost 
thoughts, purposes and motives — the inner 
tendencies of one's life. The precept of Solo- 
mon, to "keep thy heart with all diligence, 
for out of it are the issues of life," is empha- 
sized by Christ, who taught the Pharisees that it 
is not anything without the man that defiles 
him, but that which proceeds out of him. 
^'For from within, out of the heart of men, 
evil thoughts proceed— fornications, thefts, 
murders, adulteries, covetings, wickednesses, 
deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, railing, pride, 
foolishness : all these evil things proceed from 
within and defile the man." * "What a fearful 
brood of unclean things is this, to be hatched 
in the human heart! No wonder we are ad- 
monished to guard it with all diligence, and 
that Christ should say, ''Blessed are the pure 
in heart." The first duty of a Christian, then, 
would seem to be to watch his thoughts and 
desires — the very fountain of one's life whence 
flow the deeds and the words which are pure 
or impure according as the heart is. 

There is frequently a moral cowardice which 
prevents one from fearlessly examining into 
the real condition of his inner life, not unlike 
that which keeps some business men from a 

*Mark 7: 21-23. 



WA TCHF VLXESS. 95 

searching examination of their books, lest they 
be found bankrupt, or certain morbid invalids 
from having a too critical diagnosis of their 
physical condition, lest it be found Incurable. 
It is plain that all this is unwise, because it is 
an unsafe course. An honest man should 
know the exact condition of his business; a 
diseased man, if he be wise, will seek to un- 
derstand the real nature of his malady, that 
he may be healed, if possible, and if not, then 
to arrange his affairs accordingly. Why 
should it be different with our moral disorders? 
Are not the motives still infinitely higher for 
an honest introspection of our hearts to know 
their real condition? 

A thoughtful writer on this subject presents 
a mighty motive for diligence in keeping the 
heart, as the only way of successfully resisting 
temptation. He says: ''It will be found that 
all the more grievous faults of the tempted 
soul come from this — that the keeping of the 
heart has been neglected, that the evil has not 
been nipped in the bud. We have allowed 
matters to advance to a question of conduct — 
'Shall I say this, or not say it? Do this or 
not do it?' Whereas the stand should have 
been made higher up, and the ground disputed 
in the inner man. As if the mere restraint 
upon outward conduct, without the homage of 



96 .ALOXE WITH GOD, 



the heart to God's law, could avail us aught, 
or be anything else than an offensive hypoc- 
risy in the eyes of the Ileart-searcherl As if 
Balaam's refraining from the malediction of 
the lips, while his heart was going after his 
covetousness, could be acceptable to the 
Almighty! * * There is therefore no safety 
for us except in making our stand at the aven- 
ues of the will, and rejecting at once every 
questionable impulse. And this, it is obvious, 
cannot be done without watchfulness and self- 
recollection — without a continual bearing in 
mind where, and what we are, and that we 
have a treasure in our keeping of which our 
foes seek to rob us. Endeavor to make your 
heart a little sanctuary, in which you may con- 
tinually realize the Presence of God, and from 
which unhallowed thoughts, and even vain 
thoughts, must be carefully excluded." 

But young Christians may as well know at 
once, what older ones have found out by exper- 
ience, that the only way to guard the heart 
against evil thoughts is to admit Christ into it, 
and enthrone him there. Once your affections 
are centered on him, and he is made the ruler 
of your life and conduct, all that is unholy and 
impure will flee from his presence. As he 
cleansed the temple, by driving out the thieves, 
the covetous and the extortioners from its 



WA TCHF VLXESS, 97 

sacred precincts, so will he, if once admitted, 
banish from the temple of our heart, the whole 
nest of evil thoughts which hatch into crimes 
of various kinds, if they are harbored there. 
That is the reason he knocks at the door of 
our hearts for admittance ; he wishes to purify 
them and dwell there. 

The lesson of self-distrust, or our own ina- 
bility to keep our heart pure without the 
divine power dwelling within us, is one of the 

« 

hardest for us to learn. Sometimes it requires 
several humiliating falls to teach us how inca- 
pable we are of coping with our great adver- 
sary, and to bring us to commit our souls to 
"Him who is able to keep us from falling and 
to present us faultless before the presence of 
his glory with exceeding joy." But if we 
watch carefully the inner tendencies of the 
heart we cannot fail to discover the need of a 
higher power than our own in order to guard 
all its approaches against the assaults of evil. 
It is for this reason that prayer is associated 
with watchfulness in Christ's teaching. Prayer 
is the expression of our dependence upon God 
— human weakness thro^ving itself upon divine 
strength, and human ignorance leaning upon 
divine vdsdom. "Watch and pray, lest ye 
enter into temptation." Neither without the 



98 ALONE WITH GOD. 

other is a sufficient protection against the wiles 
of the devil. 

When such personal introspection as is here 
recommended has discovered the weak point 
in one's character, special and almost exclusive 
attention should be given first to fortifying such 
point until it has been made strong. In char- 
acter-building, as in almost every other great 
undertaking, singleness of aim is the surest 
road to success. Attack your besetting sin, 
whatever that may be, with all the concen- 
trated energy of thought, prayer and effort. 
''The 'one thing needful,' " says a discriminat- 
ing writer on this subject, "for those beset with 
any moral and spiritual infirmity, is to rid 
themselves of it, rooting it, as far as possible, 
out of their hearts, with loathing and abhor- 
rence. Until this is achieved there is no busi- 
ness to them of equal importance.' 

2. Alertness^ or readiness for action^ is 
another element of watchfulness. The first 
point might have been called ''The Inlook," 
and the second, '*The Outlook." It would be 
a great mistake to suppose that all our time 
for self-improvement should be devoted to 
looking in on our own thoughts, motives and 
purposes. This would produce a morbid spir- 
itual condition which would prove an obstacle 
alike to happiness and to spiritual growth. 



WATCHFULXESS. 99 

What is needed is to know our own spiritual 
state, and when introspection has accomplished 
this, the eye of the soul should look out and, 
above all, should look up. Some of the things 
to look out for are, 

a. The movements of the enemv — the devices 
of Satan for entrapping the souls of the 
unwary. Those practices, forms of amuse- 
ment, places of resort, habits and aesociations 
which lure many to destruction, avoid. Why 
should you incur risks which have proved fatal 
in so many instances? "Lead me not into 
temptation," is a most wise prayer, but if we 
walk into these temptations our prayer is a 
mockery. 

b. Opportunities for doing good. Unless 
we are on the alert, we will allow many golden 
opportunities to pass by unimproved. The 
kind word we might have spoken to cheer a 
discouraged heart, the gentle reproof, which 
TQight have saved a soul from sin, the loving 
deed done in Christ's name to the poor and 
needy — all these were neglected because we 
were not watching for opportunities to do 
good. 

"O the world is full of sighs, 
Full of sad and weeping eyes ; 
Help your fallen brother rise, 
While the days are going hy." 



100 ALONE WITH GOD. 

c. The signs of the times. Christ reproved 
his discix)les for their inattention to the signs 
of the great times in which they lived. The 
most stupendous events were occurring before 
their eyes, prophecy was being fulfilled, a new 
era was being brought to birth, but they 
seemed not to comprehend the meaning of these 
things. Had they done so, how much better 
they might have perfor naed their part in the 
great drama that was being enacted! But may 
we not live in a time full of momentous issues 
— ''in an age on ages telling?" Let us seek to 
know the times in which we live and the great 
crises of history. We are commanded to watch 
for the Coming of the Son of Man, — the great 
event of the future — and to be ready, lest he 
find us slumbering, or with lamps untrimmed 
or unsupplied with oil. The best state of read- 
iness for the coming of Christ, is a condition of 
eagerness to know and readiness to do his will. 

So watching and praying and toiling, we 
shall see Christ growing in our own characters, 
and the world's long night of sin and sorrow 
growing grey with the streaks of the coming 
light, and all the eastern hill-tops glow with 
the radiance of his coming, whose advent shall 
usher in the eternal day. 



WA TCHF ULXESS. 101 

Prayer. 

O Thou All-seeing God, whose eye penetrates 
into all the secret places of our hearts and 
minds, help me to see myself, in some measure, 
as Thou seest me, and to know my own weak- 
nesses and faults, to the end that I may be able 
to overcome them through Thy gracious aid. 
In view of the dangers and temptations which 
surround me, help me to be ever watchful, 
examining myself, in m^ secret thoughts and 
purposes, and to be wary of Satan's devices. 
Grant me grace and courage, O Lord, to resist 
the very beginnings of evil, in the heart, and to 
refuse to entertain thoughts or desires that are 
contrary to Thy will. Enable me to be ready 
for every good word and work, and to seek out 
opportunities of being useful. Give me a ten- 
der regard for the welfare of all Thy children 
and a deep concern for the salvation of all men. 
Help me, O Thou blessed Saviour, to watch 
with Thee, until the time of temptation is past. 
Let the words of my mouth and the medi- 
tation of my heart, be acceptable, in Thy sight, 
O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer. 
Amen I 



XIII. 

THE MISSION OF SUFFERING. 



And not only so, but let us also rejoice in our tribulations ; 
knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience 
probation, and probation hoi^e.—Bomans 6:3, 4. 

For it became him for wliom are all things, and through 
whom are all things, in brining many sons unto glory, to 
make the author of their savlation perfect through suffer- 
ings.— ^e6. 2:10. 

THE apostle having just exhorted his breth- 
ren to ''rejoice in the hope of the glory 
of God," thinks of the present trials and suf- 
ferings which surround us here, and, as if feel- 
ing the soul's need of consolation in things 
nearer at hand, immediately adds: "And not 
only so, but let us also rejoice in our tribula- 
tions." Certainly if there is any philosophy of 
life, or any attainment of faith, that will enable 
the Christian to extract joy out of the very 
trials and calamities of life, it is greatly worth 
our while to seek it as a most invaluable pos- 
session. Many Christian lives are compara- 
tively joyless, because of life's crosses, disap- 
pointments and bereavements. Many of us 

(102) 



THE MISSION OF SUFFERINa. 103 

have not yet attained to that sublime height of 
faith that will enable us to say with Paul, 
'^Let us also rejoice in tribulations;" or with 
James, ^ 'Count it all joy^ my brethren, when 
ye fall into manifold temptations."* And yet 
these men of God, speaking out of their expe- 
rience, no doubt, as well as by divine guidance, 
were able to give substantial reasons for rejoic- 
ing in trials and tribulations. Let us examine 
some of the reasons which justify us, as they 
did these ancient servants of Jesus Christ, in 
regarding these tribulations, not as hindrances, 
but as helps in the development of Christian 
character. 

1. Tribulation worketh patience, Paul and 
James both assign this fact as a reason for 
rejoicing in tribulation. James says, "Know- 
ing that tJie proof of your faith worketh patience, ' ' 
regarding these trials which come upon us here 
as so many proofs or tests of our faith. It is 
stated, not as a theory, but as 2, fact ^ that trials 
or tribulations work patience. Christian expe- 
rience, in all the centuries which have come 
and gone since then, but corroborates tlie truth 
of the statement. It were scarcely worth our 
while, now and here, to stop for the purpose of 
inquiring into the philosophy of this fact, seeing 
that all experience attests its reality. Rather 

* James 1:2. 



104 ALONE WITH GOD, 

let us inquire if patience be a virtue of sufficient 
value to reward us for enduring tribulation. 
In its current use the vrord patience signifies 
little more than passive resistance to evil, the 
calm endurance of suffering. Even this is great 
gain ; but the original, besides this passive ele- 
ment, implies "an active perseverance, a brave 
persistence in good works, that will not be 
shaken by fear of evil, and an abiding hope of 
final victory which no present dangers may 
disturb." It is a heroic virtue, that, having 
counted the cost, endures to the end. Job was 
noted for his patience, but its highest exempli- 
fication, of course, is to be seen in Jesus. No 
fretfulness, impatience or worry marred the 
beauty or dissipated the energies of that per- 
fect life. How we admire it in him ! But how 
much more does he admire it in his followers ! 
If trials, misfortunes, disappointments, perse- 
cution for truth's sake, or sickness, do but 
serve to make me more patient — more like my 
Master — why should not I take some joy in 
them? 

2. Patience worketh probation^ or approval. 
Rotherham renders the word — a-putting-to-the 
test. Approval seems to be supported by the 
best authority — being the result of "probation" 
or of "putting-to-the-test," which the context 
seems to require. Or, if we blend the two ren- 



THE 3IISSI0y OF SUFFEBIXG, 105 

derings and read, "patience worketh probation 
resulting in approval," we will not miss the 
thought very far. It is clear that without 
patience to endure tribulation, the soul would 
be deprived of a necessary discipline, for it is 
only to those in whom patience is permitted to 
do its perfect work, that tribulation yields its 
beneficent results. But when patience fortifies 
the soul to endure, meekly, all the adversities 
of life, — its losses, its pains, its sorrows, its 
temptations and conflicts, — it inevitably results 
in approval — the approval of one's own con- 
science, and God's approval. "Who can esti- 
mate the value of such approval? Its influence 
must stimulate the whole spiritual nature and 
impart new vigor to the religious life. One of 
its most marked results is the implantation or 
intensification of hope. 

3. Hence, probation (or approval) worketh 
hope. What an inspiring factor in Christian 
life hope is, every true disciple of Jesus knows. 
It is mentioned by Paul along with faith and 
love, as one of the things that abide. To the 
Roman brethren who were suffering great 
affliction he says, "We are saved by hope." 
It alone could have strengthened the heart and 
nerved the arm of the early Christians for the 
conflicts of those perilous days. Now, as then, 
it is "as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure 



106 ALOXE WITH GOD, 



and steadfast, and entering into that which is 
Avithin the veil," Hope ever sings of a brighter 
to-morrow. In the midst of poverty, disease, 
privation, toil and conflict, it looks away to 
that fair land where there is no more sickness, 
hunger, sorrow, crying or death, and cheer- 
fully bears the present, temporary ill, in expec- 
tation of future everlasting good. Such is hope 
— the child of probation, which is the child of 
tribulation. "Thus through a series of virtues, 
each in turn effect and cause, tribulation is 
'the nurse of our hope in the world to come.' " 
It is very difficult, while we are in the midst 
of these manifold trials, to take this cheerful 
and scriptural view of their meaning and pur- 
pose. We find ourselves inclined to doubt 
whether the particular trial or tribulation to 
which we are at the time subjected, belongs to 
the class which work out beneficial results, 
until we remember that this same apostle 
declares, in another place, that, ''to them that 
love God all things work together for good, 
even to them that are called according to his 
purpose."* It cannot be doubteS, then, that 
our particular and peculiar trial belongs to the 
"all things" which "work together for good." 
How manifold and various are the tribulations 
which assail us here ! There is loss of property 

* Rom. 8:29. 



THE MISSIO:sr OF SUFFEBIXa. 107 

and of friends, there is poverty, unrequited 
toil, disappointed hopes, frustrated plans, false 
friends, ungrateful and wayward children, 
wasting disease destroying the life of loved 
ones, misrepresentation and persecution, and 
evermore the temptations of Satan. To all 
these are to be added the routine of daily duties, 
which are sometimes irksome and onerous. 
What a splendid philosophy is that which Chris- 
tian faith lays hold of, by which all these seem- 
ing calamities and adversities are transformed 
into so many kind providential agencies designed 
to promote our spiritual growth and develop- 
ment! 

We are inclined to forget the divine mission 
of suffering. Even Jesus, the sinless One, 
"was made perfect through suffering." There 
were qualifications and elements of character 
essential to his high office as the Avorld's 
Sa^dour, which could only be gained by per- 
sonal experience with human sorrow and suf- 
fering. Hence he was ^'a man of sorrows and 
acquainted with grief." His life was one of 
almost constant contact with disease, misfor- 
tune, poverty and sin. He bore our sorrows 
and suffered for our iniquities. Out of it all 
there came a character, not only sinless, but 
how full of tenderness, compassion and sym- 
pathy! It is the :Tiission of suffering not only 



108 ALONE WITH GOD, 

to test faith, produce patience, work out proba- 
tion and intensify hope, but also to mellow the 
heart, widen our sympathies, burn out the dross 
in our nature and purify the gold, and qualify 
us for helpful ministries to all other suffering 
ones of earth. Why then should we expect to 
be wafted to heaven 

"on flowery beds of ease, 
While others fought to win the prize 
And sailed through bloody seas?" 

To learn this lesson — that all life's crosses and 
trials and conflicts, and the performance of our 
daily tasks, no matter how humble, are the 
very means which God has ordained for our 
spiritual discipline, and the stepping-stones by 
which we are to rise from earth to heaven, 
from bitter sorrows and lowly duties to celes- 
tial joys and heavenly employments^ — is to 
know the meaning of life and to master the 
secret of contentment and happiness in our 
earthly lot. Having learned this lesson we 
may "rejoice in tribulation," for we can see,^ 
then, how it is, that "our light affliction, which 
is for the moment, worketh for us more and more 
exceedingly, an eternal weight of glory,"* and 
we may , with the same apostle, "reckon that 
the sufferings of this present time are not 

*2 Cor. 4:17. 



THE MlSSIOy OF SUFFEBIXG. 109 



1 
J 



worthy to be compared with the glory which 
shall be revealed to us-ward.""* 

These comforting thoughts, I would com- 
mend to the afflicted, the burdened, the perse- 
cuted, the tempted and tried ones. Eest assured 
that your loving Father in heaven knows your 
special trial, means it for your eternal good, 
and ^v\i\ not allow you to be tempted above 
that you are able to bear in his name and 
strength. Let us not forget the exhortation of 
which Paul reminded his Hebrew brethren who 
were suffering great tribulation: 

"My son, regard not lightly the chastening of the Lord, 
Nor faint, when thou art reproved of him; 
For whom the Lord loveth, he chastenetii, 
And scourgeth every son whom he receiveth."t 

It is true, as the apostle adds, that "All chast- 
ening seemeth for the present to be, not joyous, 
but grievous," yet it is also true, nevertheless, 
that "afterward it yieldeth peaceable fruit unto 
them that have been exercised thereby, even 
the fruit of righteousness." It is the "after- 
ward" that God has in view, for the spiritual 
results of chastening are eternal, while the 
tribulations are only for a short time. 

As the voyager across the ocean soon forgets 
the storms and the billows which filled liis soul 
with fears, and made his passage uncomforta- 

* Rom. 8:18. tHeh. 12:5,6. 



110 ALONE WITH GOD, 

ble, when he has reached his destination and 
is welcomed by kind friends, so we, tempest- 
tossed passengers on life's stormy sea, when 
safely anchored in the quiet haven of everlast- 
ing peace, shall find our past sorrows and 
afflictions swallowed up in the supreme delight 
of the beatific vision. There, on some fair 
mount of vision, looking back over our earthly 
struggles, and trials, we shall see clearly, as 
we cannot here and now, that God's way with 
us Was ordered in mercy, and that life's shad- 
ows, no less than its sunshine, are proofs of his 
amazing love. Meanwhile, ''we walk by faith, 
not by sight. " 



But if, while walking by faith, we have been 
enabled to rejoice in the tribulations of this 
life, because of the spiritual education which 
they bring, what must be the joy and delight 
of the triumphant soul, when we shall walk 
by sight amid the glories and splendors of the 
unseen world! What a vision of immortal 
beauty awaits the transition of God's children 



THE MISSION OF SVFFEBIXa, 111 

from the body, with its pains and temptations, 
into the paradise of God I What radiant forms 
of celestial dignity shall pass before us I AVe 
shall see the Kincr in his beautv, and look ^Yith 
unveiled faces upon the divine glory. Scenes, 
of which earth's fairest landscapes are but 
laint suggestions, will burst upon the view of 
earth's weary pilgrims, who, having walked 
by faith to the borders of the realm invisible, 
pass from the seen into the unseen world. 

Moreover, faith shall merge into knowledge. 
Oreat fundamental facts and truths which 
we have received bv faith on the authoritv of 
Christ, being beyond our ability to compre- 
hend here, will grow luminous in the light of 
God's presence, and will pass into the realm of 
our understanding. ''Xowwe see in a mirror, 
darkly; but then face to face." Knowledge in 
part shall give place to perfect knowledge. 
Then, in the light of this wider knowledge, we 
shall know the meaning of many things that 
confound our intellects here, and, among oth- 
ers, the mystery of human suffering. 



112 ALONE WITH GOD, 



Prayer. 

• 

O Thou who dwellest in light unapproacha- 
ble, and in whom there is no darkness, hear 
my prayer, for I am one of Thy earth-born 
children enveloped in the mists and shadows 
of time and sense. I cannot understand all 
Thy dealings with me. O help me to trust 
Thee where I cannot trace Thee. Give me 
grace, heavenly Father, to bear whatever bur- 
dens it seemeth good to Thee to lay upon me. 
In my short-sightedness, I would always choose 
for myself prosperity, and freedom from life's 
pains and sorrows. But Thou knowest what 
is best for each of Thy children. If in the 
midst of earthly enjoyments and successes, my 
soul is weaned from Thee, and I lose my hold 
on things spiritual, and set my affections unduly 
on things earthly and temporal, do Thou in 
mercy draw me closer to Thee, and if it be a 
cross which Thou dost send to draw me back 
to Thee, help me still to sing, 

"Nearer, my God, to Thee, 

Nearer to Thee ; 
E'en though it be a cross 

That raiseth me." 

May Thy Holy Spirit so enlighten my under- 
standing, and so quicken my spiritual appre- 



THE MISSION OF SUFFEBIXG. 113 

hension, that I may never forget Thy name is 
Love, and that Thou art my Father, — and hence 
far more deeply concerned for my salvation 
than I can possibly be for those that I most love. 
Grant, most gracious Father, that Thy chast- 
ening rod may always serve to bring me closer 
to Thee, as Thou dost intend it. Help me to 
realize that the loss of any earthly good that 
results in spiritual gain is a blessing in disguise. 
I would rather be Thy child, chastened and 
disciplined by Thy loving hand, than to enjoy 
the ease and prosperity of the wicked. By 
whatever way seemeth good to Thee, whether 
in sunshine or shadow, on the heights of pros- 
perity, or in the lowly vale of obscurity, do 
Thou, O Father, lead me on, so that I may at 
least reach Thy presence, see Thy face, and be 
transformed into the image of Thy dear Son. 
And to Father, Son and Holy Spirit, will we 
ascribe the praise for our salvation forevermore. 
Amen! 



THE MODEL PRAYER. 



OUR Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed 
be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. 
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in 
heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And 
forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those 
who trespass against us. And lead us not into 
temptation ; but deliver us from evil : For thine 
is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, 
for ever and ever. Amen! 



What a marvelous prayer this is, in its scope, 
in its simplicity, in its sublimity, in its adapta- 
tion to human needs ! The more we study it, 
the more wonderful it will appear in all these 
characteristics. 

Our Father, 

A volume could not tell us so much of the 

nature of God as this simple phrase. It enters 

at once into the sphere of human experience 

and appeals to the heart with tremendous 

power. God is our Father! With what loving 

confidence, then, may we approach Him! 

How deep and tender, then, must be his con- 

(114) 



THE MODEL PBAYEB, 115 

cern for us, his earthly children! How closely 
it draAvs all the human family together, for He 
is our common Father! "The sky is the roof 
of but one family." Divine Fatherhood, human 
brotherhood — what glorious conceptions ! How 
the world is being changed by them ! We are 
not orphans, then, drifting about on the chance 
currents of time, without a purpose or a des- 
tiny, but we have a divine Father, who is guid- 
ing all things for the welfare of his children. 
For this sublime thought, in its fulness and 
tenderness, we are indebted to Jesus of ]N"aza- 
reth, who taught us this prayer. 

Wlio art in heaven. 

There is, then, a heaven — the home of God. 
But if it be God's home, it is our home also, 
for He is our Father. Where should the chil- 
dren be but in the Father's house? "In my 
Father's house are many mansions," said 
Jesus. "I go to prepare a place for you, and 
if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come 
again and receive you unto myself, that where 
I am there ye may be also."* A heavenly 
Father and a heavenly home ! Could words be 
more full of comfort! 

Hallowed be Thy name. 

*John 14:2, 3. 



116 ALONE WITH GOD, 

Let the holy character of God be honored as 
holy, both with our lips and in our lives. If 
God our Father be holy, how holy, too, ought 
we, his children, to be, in all manner of con- 
versation! Let us pray to be preserved 
from a careless and irreverent use of the name 
of the infinite and adorable Being whom we 
may call ''Our Father," and in all things seek 
to be like Him. 

Thy Kingdoyn come. 

This is the missionary spirit, breathing om 
its petition for the prevalence of God's reign 
over the lives of men. This will always be an 
appropriate petition for the disciples of Jesus, 
until the "last enemy shall be destroyed," and 
Christ shall transfer the kingdom to his Father^ 
''that God may be all in all." True, it has 
already come to the earth, in its beginning, and 
has made much progress ; but to a large part 
of the race the kingdom of God has not yet 
come. A majority of the vast number of 
human beings who dwell upon the earth to-day 
know little or nothing of the kingdom of God. 
And even in Christian lands, how many there 
be who have never yielded to the authority of 
Christ! And of those who profess citizenship 
in the kingdom of God, how few, compara- 
tively, have yielded their whole lives, with all 



THE MODEL FBAYEB. 117 

their powers and talents to the service of God ! 
It is evident, tlierefore, that we may still pray, 
*'Thy kingdom come." But if we only pray, 
and do nothing else to extend the kingdom of 
God throughout the world, we are falling far 
short of our duty, and are denying in our lives 
the prayer we utter with our lips. Every dis- 
ciple of the Master is under the most solemn 
obligations to do what lies in his power, to 
hasten the time when ''all the kingdoms of this 
world shall become the Kingdom of our Lord 
and of his Christ." 

Thy ivill be done on earth as it is in heaven. 

This opens up a glorious vista of progress 
for the human race here in the world. The 
"will of God is yet to be done on earth as it is in 
heaven. What a wonderful change does this 
involve! No more war nor bloodshed. No 
more strife and unholy rivalry between nations 
and individuals. No oppression of the poor by 
the rich, nor envy of the rich by the poor. No 
more saloons in the land, producing drunkards, 
orphans, widows, poverty, disgrace and crime. 
No more dishonesty, lying, unchastity, theft, 
murder, malice or hatred, for all shall be 
brothers and each shall seek his neighbor's 
welfare. This earth, then, will be an annex to 
heaven, and there will be ''a new heaven and a 



118 ALOXJE WITH GOD, 

new earth Avherein dwelleth righteousness.'^ 
Glorious era! Let us labor for it, and pray 
for it, that we may share in its everlasting joys» 

Give us this day our daily bread. 

Here is the beautiful spirit of dependence on, 
and trust in, a Father's love and care. When 
we can recognize all our daily blessings as gifts 
from the hand of our heavenly Father, the 
gratitude we feel will express itself in constant 
thanksgiving to Him. It is not bread for a 
year that is asked for, but daily bread. This 
implies daily communion with God. !N"or is it 
bread for the body only, that we need to ask 
God for, but for our spirit's daily food which 
He alone can supply. But neither in our peti- 
tion for material nor for spiritual bread, may 
we omit the necessary effort on our part to 
secure these blessings, God confers his gifts 
upon us in the way that will be most profitable 
to us, and that is, through our own efforts, we 
working with God and He with us, and in us. 
Thus in co-operation with God do we obtain 
temporal and spiritual blessings. 

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those 
who tresjMSS against us. 

The dear Lord knew our human weakness, 
and has taught us hoAV to pray for forgiveness. 
There must, of course, first of all, be a recogni- 



THE MODEL PBAYEB. 119 



tion of our sins, then sorrow for them and an 
earnest purpose to turn away from them. We 
must possess, too, the spirit of forgiveness, if 
we would be forgiven. If we do not forgive 
those who have trespassed against us neither 
will our heavenly Father forgive our trespasses. 
This is because the unforgiving spirit is an 
impenitent spirit, and therefore in no condition 
to receive forgiveness. 

And lead us not into temptation^ hut deliver us 
from evil. 

Here is the wise spirit of caution. This peti- 
tion indicates a wholesome fear of sin, and, 
what is all too uncommon, a recognition of our 
own weakness. The self-confident never utter 
this petition, except in a merely formal way. 
They do not feel the need of caution, and rush 
thoughtlessly into the midst of temptation, to 
find themselves unprepared to meet it. The 
temptations that lie in the path of duty are 
quite enough to test our faith and loyalty, 
without going out of our way to associate with 
the ungodly, and come under their vile influ- 
ence. In the way of duty we may confidently 
rely on God's assistance, but in meeting self- 
chosen temptations, which we find by walking 
in the way of transgressors, we have forfeited 
divine aid, and become an easy prey for the 



120 ALONE WITH GOD. 

enemy of our souls. Evil is the one thing to be 
feared, and we do well to ask our heavenly 
Father to ''deliver us from evil" — the evil that 
is without, and the evil thoughts that may arise 
within our own hearts. God alone can deliver 
us from the dominion of evil or the "Evil 
One." 

For thine is the kingdom^ and the power ^ and the 
glory ^ forever and ever. Amen ! 

Although this doxology is not in the Revised 
Version, nor in several of the ancient MSS., it 
is supported by preponderating evidence from 
the Greek Fathers, and forms a fitting conclu- 
sion to this remarkable prayer. It is an ascrip- 
tion of praise to Him before whom the heart 
has humbled itself in prayer, and expresses the 
natural outflowing of every loving and loyal 
citizen of the kingdom of God. 

To say^ or merel)'' repeat such a prayer as the 
foregoing, grand as it is, means little ; but to 
pray it, intelligently and sincerely, means very 
much. No one can do it habitually without 
growing into the likeness of Christ, out of 
whose heart it flowed. I woukl commend it 
for daily use, either alone, or as the conclusion 
of another prayer. 



SCRIPTURAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR 

PRAYER. 



THUS saitli the Lord, The heaven is my 
throne and the earth is my footstool: 
"Where is the house that ye built unto me? and 
where is the place of my rest? For all those 
things hath mine hand made, and all these 
have been, saith the Lord. But to this man 
will I look ; even to him that is poor and of a 
contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. 

Be careful for notliing; but in every thing 
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, 
let your requests be made known unto God. 

Seek the Lord, and his strength; seek his 
face continually. 

Seek ye the Lord while^he may be found ; call 
ye upon him while he is near. 

Continue in prayer, and watch in the same 
with thanksgiving. My brethren, be strong in 
the Lord, and in the power of his might: 

Praying always with all prayer and suppli- 
cation in the spirit; and watching thereunto 

with all perseverance. 

(121) 



122 ALONE WITH GOD, 

Every good gift and every perfect gift is 
from above, and cometh down from the Father 
of lights, with whom is no variableness, 
neither shadow of turning. 

For the same Lord over all is rich unto all 
that call upon him; for whosoever shall call 
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

As for me, I will call upon God, and the 
Lord shall save me. Evening, and morning, 
and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud, and he 
shall hear my voice. 

I will cry unto God most high, unto God 
that performeth all things for me. 

For thou. Lord, art good, and ready to for- 
give, and plenteous in m^rcy unto all them 
that call upon thee. 

The Lord is nigh unto all them that call* 
upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. 

He will fulfill the desire of them that fear 
him ; he also will hear their cry, and will save 
them. 

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to 
you: cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and 
purify your hearts, ye double-minded. 

The Lord is far from the wicked, but he 
heareth the prayer of the righteous. 

If ye abide in me, and my word abide in 
you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be 
done unto you. 



SCBIPTVBAL IXSTBUCTIOXS. 123 

The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous ; 
and his ears are open unto their cry. 

The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth and 
delivereth them out of all their troubles. 

Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at 
peace. 

For then shalt thou have thy delight in the 
Almighty. Thou shalt make thy prayer unto 
him, and he shall hear thee. 

And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye 
have aught against any ; that your Father also 
which is in heaven may forgive you your tres- 
passes. 

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your 
heavenly Father will also forgive you : but if ye 
forgive not men their trespasses, neither will 
your Father forgive your trespasses. 

Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done 
to me : I will render to the man according to 
his work. 

But love your enemies; bless them that 
curse you; do good to them that hate you; 
and pray for them that despitefully use you 
and persecute you ; that ye may be the children 
of your Father which is in heaven: for he 
maketh his sun to rise on the evil, and on the 
good ; and sendeth rain on the just, and on the 
unjust. 



124 ALONE WITH GOD. 

Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also 
is merciful. 

If thou deal thy bread to the hungry; and 
that thou bring the poor that are cast out to 
thy house; when thou seest the naked, that 
thou cover him ; and that thou hide not thyself 
from thine own flesh. Then shalt thou call, 
and the Lord will answer ; thou shalt cry, and 
he shall say. Here I am. 

But whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the 
poor, he shall also cry himself, but shall not be 
heard. 

I will therefore that men pray everywhere, 
lifting up holy hands without wrath and 
doubting. 

And what things soever you desire when ye 
pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye 
shall have them. 

These things have I written unto you that 
believe in the name of the Son of God, that ye 
may know that ye have eternal life, and that 
ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. 
And this is the confidence that we have in him, 
that, if we ask anything according to his will, 
he heareth us : and if we know that he heareth 
us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have 
the petitions that we desire of Him. 

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of 
God ; that giveth to all men liberally, and up- 



SCBIP TUBAL INSTBUCTIONS. 125 

braideth not, and it shall be given him: but 
let liim ask in faith, nothing wavering ; for he 
that waver eth is like a wave of the sea, driven 
with the wind and tossed. For let not that 
man think that he shall receive anything of the 
Lord. 

For ye have not received the spirit of bond- 
age again to fear; but ye have received the 
spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, 
Father. 

He that spared not his own Son, but deliv- 
ered him up for us all, how shall he not with 
him also freely give us all things? 

In whom we have boldness and access with 
confidence by the faith of him. 

For there is one God, and one mediator 
between God and man, the man Jesus Christ, 
who give himself a ransom for all. 

We have not an high priest which cannot be 
touched with the feeling of our infirmities; 
but was"" in all points tempted like as we are, 
yet without sin: let us therefore come boldly 
unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain 
mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. 

Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever ye 
shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it 
you: hitherto have ye asked notliing in my 
name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy 
may be full. 



126 ALOXE WITH GOD, 

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, 
that will I do, that the Father may be glorified 
in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my 
name, I will do it. 

Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye 
shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto 
you; for every one that asketh, receiveth; and 
he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that 
knocketh, it shall be opened. 

If ye, then, being evil, know how to give 
good gifts unto your children ; how much more 
shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit 
to them that ask Mm? 

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmi- 
ties: for we know not what we should pray 
for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh 
intercession for us with groanings which 
cannot be uttered: and he that searcheth the 
hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, 
because he maketh intercession for the saints 
according to the will of God. 

Let us lift up our hearts with our hands unto 
God in the heavens. 

Fervent in spirit, serving the Lord : continu- 
ing instant in prayer. 

We do not present our supplications before 
thee for our righteousness ; but for thy great 
mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O 



SCBIFTUBAL IXSTBUCTIONS, 127 

*■ — — . 

Lord, hearken, and do; defer not, for thine 
own sake, O.nay God. 

Let the words of my mouth and the medita- 
tion of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, 
O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. 



PART II. 

FORMS OF PRAYER. 

FOR 

I. PRIVATE DEVOTIONS. 
II. FAMILY WORSHIP. 
III. SPECIAL OCCASIONS. 



9 (129) 



But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and 
when thou hast shut thy door pray to thy Father which 
is in secret and thy Father, wliich seeth in secret, shall him- 
self reward thee openly. — Jesus. 



We feeble mortals have the privilege of speaking to our 
Maker. We utter words here, or pour out our desires in the 
closet, or when walking in the street or engaged in our daily 
employment we breathe an ejaculation. The word may be 
scarcely louder than a whisper, it may be inaudible to our 
neighbor, and yet it cannot die away into silence, nor can it 
be lost through blending with other sounds; nothing can 
drown it or prevent it from reaching its destination. It 
passes beyond sun and stars ; it enters the presence-chamber 
of the Almighty. Amid the ceaseless strains of praise, that 
whisper reaches the divine ear, touches the infinite heart, 
moves the omnipotent arm. It sets in motion long trains of 
events, and brings down showers of blessings on those who 
utter it. — TV. Landels. 

(130) 



PRIVATE DEVOTIONS. 



For Spiritual Renewal. 

HEAVENLY Father, renew me in the spirit of 
my mind, in my thoughts, my words, and 
life. May old sins pass away and all things 
be made new in me. May my affections be 
reclaimed to Thy service, that I may love Thee 
with all my heart, and my neighbor as myseh. 
I have no sufficiency in myself; ny sufficiency 
is in Thee. Knowing Thy will concerning me 
is my sanctiH cation, may I earnestly and con- 
stantly strive to love Thee more and serve 
Thee better all the days of my life; through 
Christ our Lord. Amen I 

For God*s Blessing. 

OGoD, who hast taught us to cast all our care 
on Thee, because Thou carestfor us, bless, 
I beseech Thee, my labor, my occupation, 
my friends and relatives, my worldly goods and 
possessions, that, being free from all undue care 
and anxiety concerning this present life, and 
setting my affections on things above, I may 
this day serve Thee, cheerfully, and help my 
neighbors readily to Thy honor and glory; for 
the love of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord. 
Amen! 

(131) 



132 ALONE WITH GOD. 

For Spiritual Progress. 

(Lord's Day.) 

O GLORIOUS Lord and Saviour, who on the 
first day of the week didst rise from the 
dead, and who art the resurrection and the 
life, I heartily beseech Thee to raise me, by true 
repentance and living faith, from the death of 
sin to the life of righteousness. Make this day 
a blessing to my soul that I may worship Thee, 
in spirit and in truth; that I may go to Thy 
house to be joyful and glad in Thee; that I 
may listen to my duty with an honest heart in 
order to practice it ; and grant that the services 
of this day, both at home and at church, may 
fit me more for that rest that remaineth for the 
people of Grod ; so that I and they may at length 
see Thy face in peace. In Christ's name. 
Amen! 

For Spiritual Joy. 

ALMIGHTY God, the redeemer and comforter 
of mankind, who, by Thy Holy Spirit, hast 
prepared far greater pleasures than the 
world knoweth of for such as refuse the false 
pleasures of the world for Thy sake, tempering 
the troubles of this world with inward and 
secret solaces, to the intent that, being cheered 
and refreshed, we should run to Thee with 
gladder hearts; grant that the anointing of 
Thy Holy Spirit may cheer my mind with 
healthful gladness, that I may always serve 
Thee with a joyful heart ; through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen! 



FBIVATE DEVOTIONS, 133 

For Contrition. 

OLORD who despiseth not a contrite heart, 
and forgettest the sins and wickedness of 
a sinner, in what hour soever he doth 
mourn and lament his manner of living ; grant 
unto me true contrition of heart, that I may 
truly condemn my sinful life past, and be 
wholly converted unto Thee ; by our Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen! 

For Strength. 

OLoRD, who hast told us to watch and pray 
that we enter not into temptation, give 
me, I beseech Thee, such strong desire to 
please Thee, that knowing the weakness of my 
mortal nature, I may flee with all my might 
from everything which may tempt me to offend 
against Thee, our loving Father; this I beg for 
the sake of Thy dear Son, Jesus Christ our 
Lord. Amen! 

For Rulers. 

OGoD, whose kingdom ruleth over all, I 
pray for Thy blessing on all who have 
authority in Church or State; that by 
their wise and good administration of the laws, 
and our careful obedience to the same, I and all 
people may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all 
godliness and honesty; through Thy Son our 
Lord. Amen! 



134 ALOXE WITH GOD, 



Confession of Sin. 

AT the close of this day, O heavenly Father, I 
confess my sins, my imperfections, and 
infirmities. I have sinned in thought, in 
speech, in act. (Specif y them.) I am not worthy 
to be called Thy son. If Thou, Lord, shouldst 
be extreme to mark what I have done amiss, I 
could not abide it. But have mercy upon me 
according to Thy loving kindness. Cast me 
not away from Thy presence. Take not Thy 
Holy Spirit from me; but grant that by His 
holy inspiration I may think and speak those 
things that are good, and by Thy grace perform 
the same this day and all the days of my life ; 
through Jesus Christ. Amen! 

For Obedience. 

ALMIGHTY God, teach me to submit to the 
easy yoke of our Saviour, Christ, and to 
take upon me His light burden. Incline me 
unto all holy obedience to Thy will. May my 
heart be so rooted and grounded in Thy love, 
that no difiiculties may discourage me in the way 
of well doing; and that neither the cares nor 
pleasures of life may lead me astray from Thee. 
Increase in me that which is lacking ; raise up 
in me that which is fallen ; restore to me that 
which I have lost; quicken in me that which 
may be ready to die ; so that I may serve and 
obey Thee in all things ; through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen ! 



PBIVATE DEVOTIONS. 135 

For Holy Living. 

ALMIGHTY God, as Thou hast promised to 
give Thy Holy Spirit to them that ask Thee, 
I humbly pray for this gift, that I may be 
kept from carelessness of spirit and hardness of 
heart; from fretfulness and impatience; from 
vanity and pride ; from irreverence and indevo- 
tion ; from repining at Thy dispensations and 
neglecting Thy warnings ; and from all sin and 
wickedness. Give to me such love and joy and 
peace and long-suffering and gentleness and 
faith and meekness and temperance, that I may 
daily crucify the flesh, with its affections and 
lusts. And this I beg for Jesus Christ's sake. 
Amen ! 

For Right Living. 

GRANT, O heavenly Father, that I may live 
this day as Thy child. Give me resolution 
to deny all sinful inclinations ; to subdue 
all corrupt affections ; to take revenge for my 
intemperance by mortification; for mis-spend- 
ing my time by retirement; for the errors of my 
tongue by silence; for all the sins of my life 
by deep humility and repentance. And while 
penitentfor my sins, may I be joyful and glad 
in Thee, so that by the brightness of my life 
and the cheerfulness of my conversation, I may 
commend the religion and church of Christ to 
all I converse with ; through Jesus Christ, our 
Lord. Amen! 



136 ALONE WITH GOD. 

For Purity. 

BLESSED Lord, who hast redeemed us tinto 
God by Thy blood and hast consecrated all 
the people to be temples of the Holy 
Spirit, make me a fit dwelling place for Thy 
Spirit. Cast out of me everything that defileth ; 
all impure lusts, sinful affections, covetous 
desires, vain imaginations, and everything con- 
trary to Thy holy will, that I may serve Thee 
this day with a pure and humble mind ; through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen! 

For Our Neighbors. 

SOFTEN my heart, O Lord, that I may be 
moved at the necessities and griefs of others. 
O most mild and merciful Christ, I beseech 
Thee, breathe upon me the Spirit of Thy meek- 
ness and goodness ; that like as Thy pity made 
Thee to endure most bitter death for us, so my 
pitying of them may lead me to succor all those 
who need it, and to the uttermost of my power ; 
for Thy name's sake. Amen! 

For Others. 

OLoRD, I pray for the church, that it may 
grow like Christ ; for the world, that it may 
. be turned to Thee; for my native land, 
that it may be governed after Thy will ; for my 
family, my kinsmen according to the flesh, my 
firends, and enemies if I have any, that all may 
partake of Thy grace here and of Thy glory 
hereafter ; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ. Amen! 



PBIVATE DEVOTIOXS. 137 



Thanksgiving. 

AonGHTY God and heavenly Father, who of 
Thy gracious providence and tender mercy 
hast preserved me, I humbly praise and 
magnify Thy glorious name for all Thy goodness 
to me this day. If I have walked uprightly and 
honestly and truthfully; if I have kept my 
tongue as with a bridle, it is of Thy mercy, O 
Lord, my God; therefore thanks and praise be 
to Thee this night; through Jesus Christ. 
Amen! 

Against Spiritual Sloth. 

OGoD, our heavenly Father, give me such a 
measure of Thy grace that, forgetting those 
things which are behind, and reaching forth 
unto those things which are before, I may press 
toward the mark for the prize of the high call- 
ing of God in Christ Jesus; to whom, with 
Thee and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, 
world without end. Amen ! 



For Knowledge. 

LORD Jesus, who art a living fountain to them 
that know Thee, perpetual food to them that 
hunger after Thee, glory to them that seek 
Thee, joy to them that find Thee; may I seek 
and find and know Thee, as the one only and 
everlasting good, in whom are pardon and peace 
and everlasting felicity now and for ever. 
Amen ! 



138 ALONE WITH GOD, 

For Mercy. 

HAVE mercy upon me, O God, after Thy great 
goodness; according to the multitude of 
Thy mercies do away with mine offences. 
"Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness and 
cleanse me from my sin. I acknowledge my 
faults and my sins are ever before me. Against 
Thee only have I sinned and done evil in Thy 
sight. Thou shalt purge me with hyssop, and I 
shall be clean; Thou shalt wash me, and I shall 
be whiter than snow. Thou shalt make me hear 
of joy and gladness, that the bones which Thou 
hast broken may rejoice. Turn Thy face away 
from my sins, and blot out all my misdeeds. 
Make me a clean heart, O God, and renew a 
right spirit within me. Cast me not away 
from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy 
Spirit from me. Amen! 
« 

Confession. 

OLoRD, our heavenly Father, merciful and 
gracious, long-suffering and abundant in 
goodness and in truth ; I call to mind Thy 
exceeding love in having redeemed me with the 
precious blood of Christ, lest the consciousness 
of my sins should drive me to despair. I know 
I have sinned in thought, in Avord, in deed. 
(Make mention of your sins.) Lord, make me 
truly penitent, that I may abhor myself for the 
sins I have committed, and turn unto Thee 
with full purpose to lead a sober, righteous, 
and godly life ; through Jesus Christ. Amen! 



PBIVATE DEVOTIONS. 139 

Commendatory. 

As I go forth to the duties of this day, remem- 
bering the snares and trials and tempta- 
tions which await me, I commend myself to 
Thee, O Lord, humbly asking that Thy grace 
may help me, Thy mercy defend me, and Thy 
good Spirit aid me, so that I may not yield to 
sin ; for the glory of Thy name ; through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen ! 

For Perseverance. 

GIVE me grace, O Lord, to lay aside every 
weight and the sin which doth so easily 
beset me, to run with patience the race 
that is set before me, looking unto Jesus, the 
Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the 
joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, 
despising the shame, and is set down at the 
right hand of the throne of God. Amen! 

For Grace. 

OLoPtD God, remove from me all iniquity, 
superstition, and hypocrisy; all haughti- 
ness, strife and wrath; all indolence and 
fraud; all lying and injuriousness ; every evil 
notion, impure thought, and base desire. Grant 
me to be truly religious and godly; give me 
patience and a good temper ; purity and sober- 
ness ; contentment and truth, with perseverance 
in all good to the end; through Jesus Christ. 
Amen! 



140 ALOXE WITH GOD, 

For Pardon. 

O MERCIFUL Lord and God, I have sinned, but 
I do not hide my sins, for I have confessed 
them before Thee. Forgive them not for my 
own merits or goodness, but for the merits and 
worthiness of our Lord Jesus Christ, who died, 
the just for the unjust, that He might bring us 
unto Thee. For the sake of His atonement 
upon the cross, may all my sins be blotted out, 
so that I may serve Thee acceptably, and at 
last attain eternal life with Thee; and to Thee 
shall be all the praise now and forever. Amen! 

For the Holy Spirit. 

O BLESSED Lord, who hast promised to give 
Thy Holy Spirit to them that ask Thee, 
and art more willing to bestow this gift 
than I to ask for it, give me the increase of Thy 
heavenly Spirit, that He may bear witness with 
my spirit that I am Thy child and heir of Thy 
kingdom; and that by the operation of His 
grace, I may kill all my carnal lusts and ^\\\ 
affections contrary to Thy will ; for the worthi- 
ness of Thy Son. Amen! 

For Meekness. 

OLoRD Jesus, who when Thou wast reviled 
didst not revile again; when Thou suf- 
eredst didst not threaten, but didst com- 
mit Thyself to Him who judgeth righteously ; 
give me the like spirit of meekness and patience, 
that I may repress all wrath, strife, murmuring, 
malice, and envy; that I may refrain from all 



FBIVATE DEV0TI0X8. 141 

peevish dispositions and from tliat unevenness 
of spirit which hinders me from the discharge of 
duty and from giving pleasure to those around 
me; I ask these blessings for Thy name's sake. 
Amen ! 

Intercession. 

1c ALL to mind this day, O Lord, before Thee, 
all who are near and dear to me ; beseeching 
Thee to remember them for good, and to 
supply their desires and wants as may be most 
expedient for them. To those in sickness and 
sorrow, grant relief; to those tempted, bestow 
deliverance; to those careless, give repentance; 
to those in doubt, give assurance. And with 
all honesty of desire, I commend to Thy mercy 
all who have wronged me by word or deed, 
beseeching Thee to forgive them all their sins, 
and to bring them with me to Thy heavenly 
kingdom; through Christ our Lord. Amen! 

For Right Living. 

AL:>nGHTY God, who knowest I am weak and 
tempted and easily led into sin, help me to 
walk uprightly and in Thy fear all the days 
of my life. Make me pure in thought; truthful 
and kind in speech ; honest and upright in my 
dealings with my fellow-men. Giv^ me humil- 
ity, that I be not vain; patience, that I be not 
angry; kindness to others, that I be not selfish. 
May I always live so as never to be afraid or 
unprepared to die; all this, through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen I 



142 ALONE WITH GOD, 

Confession. 

OLoRD God, I would make humble and hon- 
est confession of my sins to Thee this night. 
Thou hast comforted us by saying, if we 
confess our sins. Thou art faithful and righteous 
to forgive them. I know that though I have con- 
fessed Thee with my tongue, I have oftentimes 
denied Thee by my acts. My eyes have been 
often opened to let in sin ; my ears have been 
often ready to receive sinful discourse ; I have 
let loose my tongue ; I have yielded my mem- 
bers as instruments of sin ; I have defiled my 
heart by vain and foolish and impure imagina- 
tions; I have wasted my time and have not 
lived answerably to my means of grace. If 
Thou, Lord, shouldst be extreme to mark 
what I have done amiss, I should have no hope. 
But there is mercy with Thee; let thy mercy 
rest upon me now, henceforth and forever; 
for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen! 



For God's Care for the Day. 

SPARED to see another day in health and 
peace, before going forth to my appointed 
work, I commend myself to the God and 
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; beseeching 
Him to keep me from all sin and danger, that I 
may live as in His presence and be joyful and 
glad in Him all this day. In Jesus' name, 
Amen^! 



PBIVATE DEVOTIOXS. 143 



For Trust. 

ALMIGHTY God, who never failest them who 
put their trust in Thee, help me to put all 
my trust in Thee, and Thee alone. In all 
difficulties may I have recourse to Thee ; in all 
troubles to rest and depend upon Thee. Thou 
wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is 
stayed on Thee; let me stay myself upon Thee, 
that Thou who art the confidence of all the 
ends of the earth, may be my confidence for- 
ever. I would commit myself to the ordering 
of Thy providence, so as to be anxious for noth- 
ing, but always to be of the number of Thy 
faithful children. Grant me this abiding trust; 
through Christ our Lord. Amen! 

For Strength to Resist Temptation. 

OLoRD, Thou who art the refuge of all who 
put their trust in Thee, I am weak, but 
Thou art strong. Give me, of Thy 
strength, to resist temptation, and especially 
the sin that doth so easily beset me. O Lord, 
Thou knowest my weakness. My hope is in 
Thee, Deliver me, O Lord, from all practices 
that are injurious to myself in body, or spirit, 
and displeasing to Thee. Help me to be obe- 
dient to Thy will, and to say, from my heart, 
"Xot my will, O Lord, but thine be done I" 
Help me to avoid temptation, and suffer me 
not to be tempted above that I am able to bear. 
O my Father! take my heart and mould it 
after Thy likeness. Take my life and use it to 
Thy glory. Lead me to do and suffer Thy will 
here, and finally receive me through the merits 
of Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen! 



144 ALONE WITH GOD, 



A Young Convert's Prayer. 

DEAR Lord, I am but a little child and know 
not how to go out or come in. Teach me 
how to pray. Thou knowest that I love 
Thee and that I need Thy divine guidance in all 
things. Thou art my Father and I am thy 
child. As Thou hast brought me into this 
sweet and holy relation to Thyself, wilt Thou 
not so direct me that I shall walk worthy of 
Thee unto all pleasing? O give me light and 
strength for the new life upon which I have 
entered that I may ever pursue the straight and 
narrow way. Feed me with the heavenly 
manna. Gird me with Thy everlasting arm. 
Shelter me under the shadow of Thy wing. 
Fold me to Thy loving breast. Fill me with 
Thy Holy Spirit. Help me to abide in Thee as 
the branch abides in the vine.^ Give me daily 
a deeper and more vital union with Thyself, 
and grant that I may never lose the blessed 
consciousness that Thou art mine and that I am 
Thine. 

My Father, thou knowest the fierce tempta- 
tions which assail me and by which, alas! I 
have been so often led astray. O pity my 
infirmities. Forgive my shortcomings and 
transgressions. Perfect Thy strength in my 
weakness. Uphold me with Thy Almighty 
hand. And, dear Lord, so fortify me with 
Thy grace that I shall be able always to resist 
the tempter and to fulfill my vows to Thee. 

Help me to grow in grace and in divine 
knowledge. Sanctify to my good every min- 
istry of Thy gospel and every trial of my 



PRIVATE DEVOTIONS. 145 

experience, that day by day I may be purer, 
stronger, braver, truer, better, than before. 
Increase my zeal and power as a worker in 
thy vineyard. Make me a more active and 
useful member of Thy church. May my life 
abound in greater blessing to those around me. 
And may my upturned heart ever say to Thee, 
^'Lord, what wilt Thou have r)ie to do?" 

Give me patience to run my race diligently 
to the end. May my heart never lose its first 
love. May my hands never weary in well 
doing. And may the precious hope of an end- 
less life to come be the anchor of my soul, sure 
and steadfast, until the glad day when my 
earthly wanderings shall cease and thou shalt 
bid me forever welcome to Thy heavenly home ; 
and to Thee, through the blessed Jesus, shall 
be praises forever more. Amen! 

In Time of Perplexity and Trouble. 

ALMIGHTY God, Our Heavenly Father! How 
often must we cry out with the psalmist, 

''AYhy art Thou cast down, O my soul, 
and why art Thou disquieted within me ; hope 
thou in God!" We are burdened with life's 
increasing cares; temptations assail us; our 
enemies plot against us ; a thousand untoward 
events transpire along our way, and vague 
fears haunt and disturb our souls. Friends we 
have trusted may have proven false, and our 
purest motives been misunderstood. We are 
cast down in spirit and are troubled on every 
side. Blessed Father! to whom can we go but 
to Thee? Thou art the refuge of all who put 

10 



146 ALONE WITH GOD, 

their trust in Thee. Help me to feel that be- 
hind these clouds which shadow my path, Thy 
I'ace is still smiling upon me. Give me peace, 
O God, and help me to feel that the everlasting 
arms are beneath me ! May I be enabled to 
cast all my fear and care upon Thee, and lie 
down and sleep in peace! Give me a faith 
that trusts Thee in the storm, and fears not. 

receive and calm and soothe my troubled 
and perplexed spirit. Thou God of all comfort, 
through Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen! 

For Increase of Faith. 

1 believe; Lord, help Thou mine unbelief. 
Increase my faith. Help me to come into 
Thy presence, O God, with loving, child-like 
confidence, believing not only that Thou art, 
but that Thou art a re warder of them who 
diligently seek Thee. Forbid that I should 
cherish any intellectual pride, or science falsely 
so called, that would prevent me from trusting 
in Thee with my whole heart, or hinder me 
from walking in Thy holy precepts. Keep me, 

1 humbly beseech Thee, heavenly Father, from 
the dominion of those fleshly appetites and 
passions which war against the spirit and 
weaken faith. Help me to endure as seeing 
Him who is invisible. Almighty God, I do 
humbly entreat Thee to so strengthen my faith 
in Thee, and in the spiritual realities of the 
unseen world, that if I shall be called upon to 
endure affliction, or to pass through the dark 
shadows of humam sorrow, I may be enabled 
to walk by faith and trust Thee even when I 



PBIVATE DEVOTIONS. 147 

cannot trace Thee. Help me to realize fully 
the precious truth that all things work together 
for good to them that love Thee and are called 
according to thy purpose. May I be among 
those who are kept by the power of God, 
through faith, unto the salvation ready to be 
revealed in the last time, that, at life's close, I 
may say with Thy servant Paul, "I have kept 
the faith." And this I ask in Christ's name. 
Amen! 

For Pardon. 

OLoRD, hear my prayer, and attend unto 
the voice of my supplication. I have 
sinned against Thee and have done wick- 
edly in thy sight. My conscience testifies 
against me, and mine own heart condemns me. 
I acknowledge my transgression, O God, and 
beseech Thee, for Christ's sake, to blot out my 
iniquity. Purge me that I may be clean, wash 
me and I shall be whiter than snow. Not 
only do I seek Thy forgiveness, for my sin, but 
I would most humbly implore Thee, most mer- 
ciful Father, to renew within me a right spirit 
of mind, by wiiich I may henceforth loathe the 
sins I have committed. Like as a father piti- 
eth his children, so, O Lord, Thou dost pity 
those that fear Thee, for Thou knowest our 
frame, that we are dust: Grant us, once more, 
the peace our sins have destroyed, and the joys 
of thy salvation. Strengthen me by Thy Spirit, 
deliver me from temptation that I may not be 
able to bear, and glorify Thy name in and 
through me. For Christ's sake. Amen! 



148 ALONE WITH GOD. 

For Refuge in God. 

OLoRD, Thou art our refuge in every time 
of trouble and of danger. Though we 
forget Thee, too often, when our path is 
unshadowed, and all goes well with us, yet in 
the day of affliction, when clouds overspread 
our sky, Thou art remembered by us as our 
only refuge, and to Thee we flee. Gracious 
Father, hear us, when we call upon Thee, and 
grant us Thy protection. Help me, dear 
Father, in the midst of distress and danger and 
care, to trust Thee more fully, and to commit 
myself to Thy care in filial confidence. May I 
be able to realize more fully than I have ever 
done that "all things work together for good 
to them that love God and are the called accord- 
ing to his purpose." Help me to feel that 
underneath me at all times are the everlasting 
arms. . So shall I have peace and rest. Keep 
me, O Lord, under the shadow of Thy wings, 
until life's storms be over past, and bring me 
with all Thy faithful ones, to the peaceful haven 
of everlasting rest, through Jesus Christ, to 
whom be glory, forever and ever. Amen I 



In Sickness. 

OThou who art the fountain of life; in 
Thee we live and move and have our 
being. It hath pleased Thee, in Thy 
providential government of the world, to afflict 
Thy children with sickness and disease at times. 
These are not accidents, but occur under a sys- 
tem of law of which Thou art the author. We 



PRIVATE DEVOTIOXS, 149 

believe these afflictions are intended for our 
good. Often by the chastisement of our bodies 
our spirits are made purer. While it is neces- 
sary for me to bear this sickness, give me 
patience and meekness, and grant that I may 
be profited spiritually thereby. But if it be 
consistent with Thy will, restore me soon to 
health and strength, that I may perform my 
allotted work and do Thy will among men. 
Whatever may be the issue, grant me forgive- 
ness of sin, and a sense of Thy nearness, and 
the grace to say, "^Not my will but Thine be 
done." We ask all in Christ's name. Amen! 

Birthday. 

ALMIGHTY God, the Father and Maker of all 
things, whose blessed Providence has 
been over me ever since I was born, I 
praise and magnify Thy glorious name for Thy 
great goodness towards me, most humbly 
beseeching Thee that I may be taught to num- 
ber my days, and to apply my heart unto 
wisdom, that I may know to Avhat end both 
body and soul have been given unto me, even 
to serve Thee, the living God; that I may 
bewail my sinful years past, and spend the rest 
of my time here in godliness and righteous- 
ness ; and that as I have now finished another 
year of my life here in Thy favor, so I may 
continue and finish up the remainder of my 
days in Thy fear, and Thou mayest at the Last 
Day raise me from the grave of this sorrowful 
earth, to live a ncAV and glorious life with 
Thee forever, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen! 



150 ALONE WITH GOD. 

For the Love of God. 

OGoD, the God of all goodness and grace ^ 
who art worthy of a greater love than we 
can give or understand; fill my heart, I 
beseech Thee, with such love toward Thee as 
may cast out all sloth and fear, that nothing 
may seem too hard to do or suffer in obedience 
to Thee ; and grant that by thus loving, I may 
daily become more like unto Thee, and finally 
obtain the crown of life which Thou hast prom- 
ised to those that love Thee; through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen! 

For Patience. 

OALivnGHTY Father, give to Thy child a meek 
and gentle spirit, that I may be slow to 
anger, and easy to be entreated to forgive- 
ness. Let me not be moved with every trifling 
mistake in the conversation and intercourse of 
others, and enable me not only to check my 
irritation, but to be so full of sympathy and 
loving-kindness, that I may not feel it. Teach 
me in all cases to remember what others feel, 
and what they have a right to expect, and give 
grace, when I have been betrayed into fretful- 
ness or irritation, to confess my fault, and 
patiently to bear the ill-will I may have occa- 
sioned. O my Saviour, make me, I beseech 
Thee, like unto Thee, humble, loving, gentle 
and courteous ; forgive me as I earnestly desire 
to forgive, others; and grant that, having 
striven to serve Thee here, I may dwell with 
Thee forever hereafter, for Thy loving mercy's 
sake. Amen! 



PBIVATE DEVOTIONS, 151 

Prayer for Truth. 

OGoD, the God of truth, mercifully grant 
that the Holy Spirit of Truth may rule my 
heart, grafting therein love of truth, and 
making me in all my thoughts and words and 
works, to study, speak and follow truth, that I 
may be sincere before men, and blameless 
before Thee. May no unworthy prejudice or 
sectarian pride prevent me from accepting 
whatever bears the divine impress of Thy truth. 
May I love the truth, know the truth, and be 
made free by the truth; for His sake who is the 
Way, the Truth, and the Life, and in whom 
is no guile, even Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen! 



For Temperance. 

OAonGHTY Father, who hast bountifully 
provided for all our wants, preserve me 
from self-indulgence and excess in the use 
of all Thy bounties, and give me the spirit of tem- 
perance and sobriety, that in eating and drinking 
I may seek only to serve my necessity with 
moderation and thanksgiving, and not my 
pleasure. Grant me rather to hunger and 
thirst after righteousness, and so to keep under 
my body that my spirit may be always wakeful 
and ready for Thy service, and I may be found 
worthy to be admitted to the Eternal Supper 
of the Lamb ; for His sake w^ho himgered and 
thirsted for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen! 



152 ALONE WITH aOD, 

Prayer for Christ-likeness. 

OUR Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for all 
Thy loving kindness and tender mercy. 
We praise Thy name that Thou hast 
revealed Thyself to us in Jesus Christ our 
Saviour. Thou hast not left us in darkness 
and despair ; but Thou hast caused the light to 
shine upon us. Thou hast illuminated the 
pathway that leads from earth to heaven. 
Yea, Thou hast shined into our hearts and 
filled us with light, and joy, and love. Thou 
hast led us out of darkness into light; out of 
despair into hope; out of sin into righteous- 
ness. Blessed be Thy holy name! 

O what wondrous love Thou hast shown 
toward us in Jesus Christ our Lord! What 
could we do without Jesus? He hath trodden 
life's pathway before us. He hath shown us 
the perfect life. He hath known the depths of 
human experience; and yet without sin. He 
hath shown us how to be in the world, but not 
of the world. He hath gone down into the 
valley and the shadow and parted the waters 
of death that we may go joyously over. He 
hath ascended to the heavens, where he now 
pleads our cause before Thy throne. 

Dear Father, help us to become more and 
more like Him. O may we be made partakers 
of the Divine Nature, escaping the corruption 
of the world through lust. AVe long for Christ 
to be formed in us, the hope of glory; for if we 
are like him here we know we shall be like 
him hereafter; for we shall see him as he is. 

When we stand in the presence of the match- 



PBIVATE DEVOTIONS. 153 

less life of Jesus, we feel so keenly the sense 
of our unworthiness. There seems such a 
gulf, wide and deep, separating us from him 
Plelp us, our Father, to so live that, as we 
grow in years, we may grow toward Him. 
May we become purer in heart, holier in life, 
more God-like in nature, more Christ-like in 
disposition. 

And when we will have reached the end of 
our pilgrimage; when the last battle Avill have 
been fought and the last victory will have been 
won, may our blessed Saviour take us by the 
hand, and say, '' AYell done; come up 
higher." 

Xow unto God our Father, be the praise and 
the glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen! 

During an Absence from Home. 

ALMIGHTY God, who knowest all my weak- 
ness far better than it is known to me, 
remember me now and visit me with Thy 
grace, lest in the company of strangers, and 
amid many new things, my heart be stolen 
away from Thee, and be inclined to evil. Pre- 
pare me, I beseech Thee, for whatever the day 
may bring forth. Hold Thou me up and I 
shall be safe. Let me never forget that I am 
Thy servant, and that Thou art my God. Give 
me grace to abstain from all appearance of evil ; 
and of Thy great mercy grant that the souls of 
Thy people may never be hurt by my words or 
my example, but rather may be edified, to the 
honor and praise of Thy name ; through Jesus 
Christ our blessed Lord and Saviour. Amen! 



154 ALONE WITH GOD, 



For the Right Use of Wealth. 

OLORD, whose is the earth and the fulness 
thereof, all we have we have derived from 
Thee. Thou hast committed to my care 
and stewardship more earthly possessions than 
to many others of Thy servants. Help me to 
realize that my ownership of these goods is 
not absolute, but that I and all I have belong 
to Thee. Give me grace and wisdom to so use 
the means in my possession as to honor Thy 
name and bless humanity. Forbid that I 
should set my heart on earthly riches and 
neglect the true wealth of the soul. Give me 
a liberal heart, that I may so consecrate what 
I have to Thy cause that it may not testify 
against me in the last day. If at any time 
Thou seest that my possessions are a hindrance 
to my soul's progress, and a peril to my salva- 
tion, then, O Father, remove them from me and 
give them to others who can more wisely use 
them. Help me and all others to whom Thou 
hast given riches to be rich in good works, to 
be humble-minded, just to those in our service, 
ready to distribute, willing to communicate to 
the necessities of others. May we be zealous 
in laying up our treasures in heaven, where 
neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where 
thieves do not break through nor steal. And 
when heart and flesh shall fail us, receive us, 
we beseech Thee, into everlasting habitations, 
through riclies of grace in Christ Jesus, our 
Lord. Ameiil 



PBIVATE DEVOTIONS. 155 

For Love to Others. 

ALMIGHTY Father, who hast promised to for- 
give us even as we ourselves forgive ; fill 
me, I beseech Thee, with such intense 
love toAvarcls Thee, that loving my friends in 
Thee, my enemies for Thee, I may obtain Thy 
promises, and be made a partaker of Thy heav- 
enly kingdom; through our Lord Jesus Christ, 
Amen ! 

Before a Journey. 

OLoRD, save me, Thy servant, for I put my 
trust in Thee. Grant to me, O my God, 
a prosperous journey this day. May Thy 
loving care be with me to protect me in all dan- 
gers of body or of soul. Guide me on my way 
to the place whither I would go ; grant me to 
return to my home in health and safety; and 
when life's journey is ended, bring me to my 
rest in Paradise, and finally to the glory of Thy 
Eternal Kingdom, for the sake of my merciful 
Saviour. Amen! 

After a Safe Return. 

I THANK Thee, O Lord, that it hath pleased 
Thee to restore me. Thy servant, in peace 
and safety to my home. Give me due thank- 
fulness, I beseech Thee, for this and all Thy 
favors, and grant that, through every dispensa- 
tion of Thy Providence, whether for sorrow or 
for joy, I may acquire a more sure trust in Thy 
mercy, and a more comfortable hope of ever- 
lasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen ! 



156 ALONE WITH GOD, 

For Our Parents. 

ALMIGHTY God, who hast strictly coramandecl 
us to honor our father and our mother 
next unto Thee, grant me of Thy goodness 
and grace so to love and honor my parents, to 
fear and to obey them, as Thou in Thy Holy 
Word hast directed and charged me to do; 
that both in their life and at their death their 
souls may bless me, and by Thy fatherly mercy 
I may obtain that blessing which Thou hast 
promised to those that honor their father and 
their mother; and that Thou, seeing my 
unfeigned heart and reverence toward them, 
mayest become my loving, heavenly Father, 
and number me among those Thy children, 
who are heirs of Thy glorious kingdom ; through 
Thy well beloved and dear Son, Jesus Christ 
our Lord, Amen! 

For Absent Friends. 

OGoD, who art everywhere present, let Thy 
loving mercy and compassion rest on the 

head of Thy servants now absent from 

us. May Thy hoJy angels guard them; Thy 
Holy Spirit guide them ; Thy Providence min- 
ister to their necessities. Let Thy blessing be 
on them night and day. Sanctify them in their 
bodies, souls, and spirit. Keep them unblam- 
able to the coming of Christ, and make us all 
to dwell with Thee for ever, in the. light of 
Thy Countenance and in Thy Glory, for our 
dear Lord's sake. Amen! 



PBIVATE DEVOTIOXS, 157 

For One who has Asked our Prayers in Trouble. 

ALMIGHTY and Everlasting God, Comfort of 
the sorrowful, Strength of the weary, our 
only Help in time of need, may the 
prayers of all that call upon Thee in trouble, 
and especially the prayers of Thy servant, 

come into Thy Presence, that he may rejoice 

evermore in Thy merciful aid and deliverance, 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen I 

For Diligence in Work. 

OGoD, who hast commanded that we should 
always work with our hands the thing 
that is good, give me grace that I may 
diligently do my duty in that state of life to 
which it has pleased God to call me. May I 
honestly strive to improve the talents com- 
mitted to my care, and grant that no worldly 
business, no worldly pleasure, may ever divert 
me from the thought of the world to come; 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen ! 

Against Evil Thoughts. 

O Eternal God, mercifully regard my 
prayers, and deliver my heart from the 
temptation of wicked thoughts, that I 
may be meet to be the Temple of the Holy 
Spirit. Forbid that I should cherish unholy 
thoughts in my heart, until they ripen into 
acts of disobedience, and so produce death. 
Help me to keep my heart pure, that I may see 
Thee and dwell with Thee forever, through 
Christ our Lord. Amen! 



158 ALONE WITH GOD, 

For Ministers of the Gospel. 

OLoRD, my God and Saviour, the Guide 
and Sheplierd of Thy flock, hear, I 
beseech Thee, the prayer which I would 
now offer unto Thee, in behalf of those w^hom 
Thou hast ordained to be the Pastors of Thy 
people, the Ministers of Thy Church. 

Look down upon them, O Lord, in mercy; 
enlighten those who are in perplexity ; uphold 
those that stand ; raise up tliose who are fall- 
ing away; arouse the negligent; strengthen 
the penitent; comfort those who are in afflic- 
tion; support those who are laboring amidst 
difficulties and privations, especially such as 
are ministering in heathen lands ; and give to 
all a firm faith in Thy revelation; zeal, and 
wisdom, in making it known; and an ever- 
present sense of their aivful responsibility; 
that so they m ay be faithful stewards of Thy 
mysteries and diligent dispensers of Thy Holy 
Word here, and may be finally accepted in that 
Great Day when they shall be called to answer 
at Thy Judgment Seat for the souls entrusted 
to their charge. 

Grant this, O Lord, my Redeemer, of Thy 
great mercy. Amen ! 

c 

For the Grace of Love. 

OLoRD, who hast taught us that all our 
doings without charity are nothing worth ; 
shed abroad in our hearts by Thy Holy 
Spirit, that most excellent gift of charity, the 
very bond of peace and of all virtues, without 
which whosoever liveth is counted dead before 



FBIVATE DEVOTIOXS, 159 

Thee. May this grace of love enable us to live 
together in unity, in peace, and in kindly and 
helpful intercourse, each esteeming others bet- 
ter than himself, and in honor preferring one 
another. Grant this for thine only Son Jesus 
Christ's sake. Amen! 

For Trust in Time of Anxiety. 

OMOST loving Father, who wiliest us to give 
thanks for all things, to dread nothing but 
the loss of Thee, and to cast all our cares 
on Thee, who carest for us; preserve us from 
faithless fears and worldly anxieties, and grant 
tliat no clouds of this mortal life may hide from 
us the light of that love which is immortal, and 
which Thou hast manifested to us in Thy Son 
Jesus Christ our Lord Thou knowest, dear 
Pat her, the burden of our hearts, which is too 
great for us. O do Thou so strengthen our 
faith that we may cast our burden upon Thee, 
and cause the events which now distress us, to 
work for our eternal good; in Jesus' name. 
Amen ! 

For the Success of the Spoken Word. 

WE beseech Thee to bless Thy word wher- 
ever spoken throughout the universal 
Church. Oh, make it a word of power 
and peace, to convert those who are not yet 
Thine, and to confirm those that are. Particu- 
larly bless it in this our land, which Thou hast 
made a land of light, and a storehouse of Thy 
treasures and mercies. Oh, let not our fool- 
ish and unworthy hearts rob us of the continu- 



160 ALOXE WITH GOD. 

ance of this Thy sweet love ; but pardon our 
sins, and perfect what Thou hast begun. Make 
Thy word a swift word, passing from the ear 
to the heart, from the heart to the lip and con- 
versation ; that, as the rain returns not empty, 
so neither may Thy word, but accomplish that 
for which it is given; through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. Amen! 

For Those Who Preach the Word. 

* 

OLoRD, strengthen Thy ministers to-day 
that they may speak with power, and 
teach Thou those that are set to teach Thy 
people. Pour upon Thy churches the spirit of 
prayer, that not their lips only, but their hearts 
may speak unto Thee. Awaken the careless, 
convince the doubting, confirm the weak, add 
power to the strong. May every Lord's day 
prepare us for the Day of the Lord ; and each 
time that we celebrate His resurrection, fit us 
to rise when He shall call us to glory ; through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen! 

For Parents. 

OMY Heavenly Father, who by thy great 
mercy hast adopted me into Thy divine 
family, help me to be an obedient child. 
I thank Thee for Christian parents who early 
taught me the way of righteousness. Thou 
hast taught us in Thy word, to honor our par- 
ents. I pray for Divine help, O Lord, that I 
may so honor, love and respect my father and 
my mother, that I may never willingly do 
aught to give them pain, anxiety, or grief. 



FBIVATE DEVOTIOXS, 161 

Help me to be mindful of their deep and ten- 
der concern for my well being, and of all they 
have done for me, and seek to gladden their 
hearts, and smooth their rugged way in their 
declining years. Soon, alas! in the course of 
nature, they will be called hence, and I shall 
no more hear their prayers and counsels. 
While they are yet with me, O loving Father, 
help me to lighten their burdens, relieve their 
wants, and reverence their wishes, that when 
they are gone I may have no reason for self- 
reproach at the memory of any needless pain I 
have caused them. And this, in Jesus' name, 
Amen! 

Before Going to the House of God. 

OGoD, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
who hast promised to be wherever two or 
three are gathered together in Thy name ; 
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts as we come 
to Thee in Thy house. Help us to cast out 
from our souls every evil feeling or desire, all 
envy, pride and hypocrisy, all falsehood, 
deceit, and worldly anxiety, all covetousness, 
vain-glory, and sloth, all malice, wrath, and 
anger, all remembrance of injuries, and every 
motion of the flesh and spirit contrary to Thy 
holy will, that, with freedom, without condem- 
nation, ivith a pure and contrite heart, with 
sanctified lips, and without confusion of face, 
we may appear before Thee, boldly call upon 
Thy name, hear with all devotion Thy most 
holy Word, and worthily adore Thee, Father, 
Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, world without 
end. Amen! 
11 



162 ALONE WITH GOD, 

For An Evening Devotion. 

GRACIOUS Father, Giver of all good, "we have 
enjoyed Thy blessing this day and come 
now to give Thee thanks. Thou hast 
strewn our path with blessings and filled our 
hearts with delight. Harm has not approached 
us nor is there any visible mark of Thy dis- 
pleasure upon us. Thou hast sent us air to 
breathe, water to quench our thirst, and we 
have been permitted to feed upon thy bounty. 
Yet we confess our faults, and ask Thee for 
pardon, and for that grace that will keep us 
from the wrong and direct us in the right. 
We pray for protection during the night, and 
for strength and wisdom with which to begin 
the work of the coming day. Let thy blessing 
rest upon every right deed and thought of this 
day, and remove the power for evil from every 
error. Help us to see in the closing day the 
emblem of the close of life that we may be as 
well prepared for that change as we are now to 
rest from the toils of the day. May we always 
trust in Thee, and be received into Thy pres- 
ence with exceeding great joy at last. For 
Christ's sake. Amen I 



PBIVATE DEVOTIOXS, 163 

In Preparation for Communion. 

OGoD, the Searcher of all hearts, prepare 
me, I beseech Thee, to receive, in a 
proper spirit of devotion, the sacred 
emblems of Christ's broken body and shed 
blood. Help me to be truly penitent for all 
my sins, and to discern, in the bread and the 
wine, the body and blood of t\\Q Lord Jesus by 
whose sacrifice I alone may hope for forgive- 
ness. Forbid, O Lord, that I should approach 
this sacred feast in a thoughtless spirit and 
without an earnest desire and sincere purpose 
to henceforth walk more worthv of the voca- 
tion wherewith I have been called; in Christ's 
name. Amen! 

LORD Jesus, I would draw nigh to Thee 
to-day, in the sacred ordinance which we 
are to observe in memory of Thee. Help 
me to come with a penitent heart, in charity 
with my neighbors, in peace with all my breth- 
ren, and with a full purpose to lead a better 
life, keeping Thy commandments and walking 
in Thy holy ways. Help me to so participate 
in this solemn, yet joyful feast, that I may be 
spiritually refreshed and enabled to' serve Thee 
more acceptably, all my days. And to Thy 
blessed name, be present and everlasting 
praises world without end. Amen ! 

ALMIGHTY God, our gracious heavenly Father, 
as I am about to join with Thy children 
in the memorial feast of the Lord's supper, 
in memory of Christ, who gave himself a ran- 



164 ' ALONE WITH GOD. 

som for us, grant tliat as I partake of the 
sacred emblems, I may reconsecrate myself to 
Thy service, and henceforth live more purely 
and unselfishly; for his dear name's sake. 
Amen I 



Brief Prayers at Bed-Time. 

O Lord, who never slumberest or sleepest^ 
be pleased in Thy mercy to watch over me this 
night. Guard me while waking, and defend 
me while sleeping, that when I wake I may 
watch with Christ, and when I sleep I may 
rest in peace. Grant this favor for his sake^ 
our only Saviour and Redeemer. Amen ! 

Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend myself^ 
and all who are dear to me. Grant us to pass 
through this night without sin, and without 
fear; awaken us at the fitting time, the time of 
prayer, and grant us to rise and seek Thee 
early, to Thy -glory and our eternal good. 
Amen! 



Loving Saviour, strength of the weary, rest 
of the restless, by the weariness and unrest of 
Thy sacred Cross, come to me who am weary, 
that I may rest in Thee. Amen! 

O Lord, who didst bid the winds and waves 
be still, lay Thy hand upon my head, and keep 
it still in Thee, as in a haven sheltered from, 
the troubled sea. Amen! 



PRIVATE DEVOTIOXS. 165 

Grant me, O Lord, above all things that can 
be desired, to rest in Thee, and in Thee to have 
my heart at peace. Thou art the true peace of 
the soul. Thou its only rest. Teach me to feel 
all things without Thee to be unsatisfying and 
restless. In this very peace, our one chiefest 
and eternal good, may 1 ever sleep and rest. 
Amen! 

Lord, support me all the day long of this 
troublous lite, until the shadows lengthen, and 
the evening comes, and the busy world is 
hushed, and the fever of life is over, and my 
work is done. Then, in Thy mercy, give me a 
safe lodging in Paradise, and a holy rest and 
peace at the last; through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. Amen I 



Rules of Conduct for Those at School. 

THE period wliich young people spend away 
from home at college is often a decisive 
one in their life. Then, for the first time, 
our boys and girls are away from parental 
restraints and thrown, in a measure, on their 
own responsibility. Alas! how many have 
proven unequal to the task and, by neglect of 
those principles they have learned at home, 
have yielded to temptation to the great sorrow 
of parents and friends, and often to their own 
moral ruin! In very few colleges is the 
religious spirit so pronounced as to deepen 
and strengthen the home training. AYe sub- 



166 ALOKE WITH GOD. 

mit here a few plain rules of conduct for those 
in school, taken mostly from a little book enti- 
tled ''The ISTarrow Way," which we believe 
will commend themseU'Cs to young people who 
have been religiously trained at home : 

1. Obey all school rules, whatever you may 
think of them, and be diligent in your work, as 
part of your duty to God. 

2. Never do anything to hinder others in 
their religious duties, especially in the bed 
rooms, nor let anything hinder you in your 
own. 

3. Always behave in the bed rooms as mod- 
estly as possible. 

4. ISTever tease those weaker than yourself; 
and always be ready to help those who are 
being ill-used. 

5. ]^ever be ashamed of your religion, or of 
your reason for refusing to do what is wrong. 
The real coward is the one who is laughed or 
frightened into sin. 

6. Never make a friend of any one who 
may lead you into sin. More young men are 
ruined by evil companions than in any other 
way. 

7. Be very respectful to all who are set over 
you, in speaking to them or of them. Never 
make fun of punishment. 

8. Never be deceitful in your work or in 
your play. It is mean, and disgraces a Chris- 
tian. 

9. Be careful how vou rebuke others for 
doing wrong. It is best not to do so at the 
time, and when others are by. To provoke 



FBI VAT E DEVOTIOXS, 167 

laughter in such nmtters does much harm. 
Speak gently and humbly in private, if you 
think you can do any good. But quiet exam- 
ple is often more useful than words. 

10. Kemember, all your actions do not end 
with yourself, but do good or harm to many 
about you, which may cling to them for life, 
and for which you must give account to God. 
The elder ones should be especially careful, as 
the younger often follow their example. 

11. Be very careful to resist every profane 
or impure thought suggested by others, or by 
anything you may read in the course of your 
studies. 

12. jS^ever tell tales of any one, unless duty 
or the good of others requires it. The elder 
boys or girls can do much good by openly 
avoiding any one who is guilty of gross sin. 

13. Honestly take to yourself your own 
share of blame; and never let another be pun- 
ished for your fault. 

14. ]^ever be afraid to ask the advice of 
those set over you, when you are in difficulty 
or in doubt. 

15. Remember, when punishment for a 
fault is over, you have still to confess your sin 
to God and to seek his pardon. Earthly pun- 
ishment should remind you of the eternal, and 
make you flee from sin. 

16. Think often of home. The thought will 
check you many times in acts of sin, and stir 
you up to do your work with better heart. Do 
not neglect to write often and regularly to par- 
ents or guardian. 



168 ALOXE WITH GOD, 



17. Remember that the glory of God and 
the love of Christ should be your highest 
motives. Those motives will never fail, but 
rather grow stronger the more you try to feel 
their force. They will cheer you in the long 
hours of study, and make your daily trials 
light. 

18. Let all your endeavors to gain high 
places and rewards remind you of your great 
race for the immortal crown, and rouse you up 
for the reward of heaven which will last for 
ever. 

19. Avoid trashy, sensational and impure 
novels, as the very emanations of the pit, and 
cultivate a taste for a pure and standard litera- 
ture. 

20. See that you neglect not the daily read- 
ing of the Bible, and daily prayer for divine 
guidance and strength. 

For Use by Those at School. 

OThou God of all wisdom, grace and 
truth, I thank Thee that Thou hast given 
me the desire for knowledge and some 
capacity for acquiring it. Help me to be faith- 
ful and diligent in all my studies, respectful 
and- obedient to my teachers, gentle and cour- 
teous to my fellow-students, and to strive so 
to demean myself as to be a good example for 
others. While I am seeking mental improve- 
ment, and that intellectual training that will tit 
me for my work in life, grant, I beseech Thee, 
Heavenly Father, that I may not neglect my 
moral and spiritual culture, without which all 



FBIVATE DEVOTIONS. 160 

knowledge is vain. Help me to keep in loving 
memory my parents [or guardian] to Avliom I 
am indebted for these privileges, and to cherisli 
fondly thfi precepts and instruction I have 
received at their hand. Help me to com^jen- 
sate them in some measure for the anxiety and 
loneliness which my absence from home may 
occasion, by the manner in w^hich I demean 
myself at school, and the progress I make in 
my studies. O Thou great Teacher, wlio art 
meek and lowly In heart, wilt Thou assist me 
in all my efforts to improve my mind and 
strengthen my charactor in virtue, to the end 
that 1 may serve Thee accej^tably here, and en- 
joy Thy x^resence forever. For Thy name's 
sake. Amen! 

On Choosing a Vocation. 

ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, we are 
glad that we may come to Thee with all 
questions that perplex us, and for the solu- 
tion of which we feel our need of wisdom. As 
the time has come when I ought to choose my 
calling in life, I beseech Thee, in a special man- 
ner, to direct me aright. Help me to honestly 
and fearlessly examine my motives, and to be 
influenced only by those that are in harmony 
with Thy will. May it be my supreme desire, 
as a disciple of Christ, to pursue that calling in 
life in which I may do most to promote his 
cause and kingdom in the world. Help me to 
be willing, at all times, to follow what seems 
to be the leadings of Thy providence, and not 
to lean too much on my own understanding. 



170 ALONE WITH GOD. 



Wilt Thou enable me to be faithful in what- 
ever pursuit I may engage, and at last to 
receive Thy divine plaudit, "Well done, good 
and faitliful servant." For Christ's Sake. 
Amen ! 

Questions for Self-Examination. 

Is there anything in my daily life I am afraid 
to look into? 

Is there anything in my conduct I feel I could 
not justify in the eyes of persons I respect? 

Is there anything I do now, which I intend 
some day to leave off doing? 

Am I honest in bu3dng and selling, and in all 
my dealings with my feJ low-men ; and with the 
State in giving in all my taxable property? 

Am I truthful and kind ; pleasant and sincere 
in conversation; pure in thought and act? 

Am I sullen, pettish, impatient or passionate 
in temper, in my home or among my asso- 
ciates? 

Am I in love and charity with my neighbors? 

Do I devote a sufficient portion of my time 
and property to the support of the gospel and 
the poor? 

Am I sorry for my sins? Do I daily confess 
them to God? Am I honestly striving and 
praying to be delivered from them? 

Am I trusting for pardon only in the merits 
and atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ? 

Have I good evidence that I am pardoned? 
Am I striving for all the Christian graces? 

Am 1 ashamed of being known as a Chris- 
tian? Do I honor my Christian profession? 



FBIVATE DEVOTIONS. 171 

Do I bring disgrace upon tlie Christian Church? 

On falling into sin, have I at once confessed 
it to God, and asked His pardon with sorrow? 

Have I trusted in mv OAvn streng-th to do 
what is right, rather than in the help of the 
Holy Spirit? 

Have I murmured against God's will in sick- 
ness, suffering, grief or loss? 

Have I gone on in sin because God is merci- 
ful? put off repentance? 

Have I always behaved as in God's presence, 
as one who has death and judgment to prepare 
for? Is God in all my thoughts? 

Have I ever thought little of sin, confessing 
it without real sorrow, and taken little or no 
pains to resist it? 

Have I risked my soul by going where I 
might be tempted to sin (perhaps to get more 
money) ? joined with bad people, and those 
who laugh at sin and desx)ise religion and holy 
things? 

Have I obeyed the Holy Spirit, speaking in 
my conscience, by neglecting what I know to 
be my duty, or doing wilfully what I knew at 
the time to be wrong? 

Have I loved prayer and communion with 
God, trying to overcome. any shrinking from 
it? Have I prayed during the day as I was 
able? 

Have I read the Holy Scriptures regularly as 
the voice of God speaking to me ; with medita- 
tion upon it and with earnest prayer that God 
would help me to understand it? 

Have I set before myself the most holy life 
of Jesus, and always tried to be like Him? 



It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, 
And to sing praise unto Thy name, O Most High: 
To show forth Thy loving Ivindness in the morning, 
And Thy faithfulness every night.— Psalin 92: 1, 2. 



As for me and my house we will serve the luox^.— Joshua 
24: 15. 

(172) 



FAMILY WORSHIP. 



^^Let prayer he the key of the morning and the holt of the 
evening.'" 

The family is a divine institution, and is older than the 
Church or the State. In it the material must be prepared 
out of which the church and state are built. Its purity, 
peace and order is of primary and fundamental importance. 
On the religious training of the young depends the well- 
being of society and of the world. The momentous issues 
involved in the family would seem to make it the most reck- 
less of experiments to attempt to rear the young without 
the purifying, restraining and moulding influence of relig- 
ion. The neglect of family worship, or irreligion in the 
home, has much to do with the deplorable lack of morality 
and religion among the young people of to-day. Let no 
family, where one or more of the parents pretend to be 
Christians, be without the daily worship. You may not see 
its beneficial effects on your children now, but the blessed 
influence of these hallowed hours will go with them, as they 
go out of the old home into the wide world, and will, in 
many an hour of sore temptation, strengthen and sustain 
them. The voices of father and mother, in reading the 
Blessed Volume, or in prayer to God, or the blended voices 
of the family, young and old, singing some sweet old melody 
of praise, will be wafted to them across the gulf of years, 
long after the parental voices have been hushed in death, 
and will bring before their minds the half-forgotten lessons 
and admonitions of long ago. But it is also a present bless- 
ing, being a most effective reinforcement of parental au- 
thority in securing obedience and order, and a powerful 
formative influence upon the character of the young. If 
you have hitherto, through timidity or other cause, neg- 
lected this most important part of your parental duty, 've 
would urge you, in Christ's name, to neglect it no longer. 

(173) 



174: ALOYE WITH GOD, 



Hesoive to begin at once. To assist you in so doing, has 
been onr object in presenting tliese forms. A few brief 
hints as to the manner of conducting the home worship is 
all that our space will permit : 

1. Let it not be too long, especially if there be small chil- 
dren in the family. A few verses of scripture, or a short 
psalm is often better than a long chapter. It is best to have 
some ijZa?2 of Bible reading, either by books or by topics. 

2. The prayer, too, should not only be brief, but very 
simple In its language, and very practical in its requests. 
If John or Mary be sicl^, pray for them by name. 

3. Let the worship be characterized by cheerful rever- 
ence. Gloom, or moroseness, will make it distasteful to the 
young. Do not go about it as a task to be dreaded, but as a 
blessed privilege to be enjoyed. 

4. If possible, the worship should embrace a familiar 
song. The children will enjoy this. 

5. In the reading of scriptures it would be well fre- 
quently, if not always, to have all the family read, either in 
turn or responsively. 

6. Where there is time for it, a brief word of comment or 
of explanation to the children, would be well. It should be 
permitted to any member of the family to ask any question 
in reference to the lesson read. 

7. If neither parent, nor any member of the family feels 
able to pray in the presence of the others, at first, let one 
of the following prayers be read aloud, while all devoutly 
join in the sentiments expressed. Or, let the Lord's prayer 
be recited together, the family bowing. In a little while, of 
course, there would be no need of depending on these forms. 

8. The character of the worship, especially of the prayer, 
should be determined by the surroundings or condition of 
the family. But be sm-e to let thanksgiving have a place m 
every prayer. 

9. Above all, seek to make the very atmosphere of your 
home life, that of religious cheerfulness. Let your children 
see that religion is not melancholy, and tliat family worship 
is not inconsistent with a game of "blind man's buff,' or 
any other innocent amusement; but that it is inconsistent 
with seltishness, peevishness, bad temper, shirking of duty, 
ialsehood, deceit, and impurity in thought, word, or deed. 



MORNING PRAYERS. 



I. 

(Lord's Day Morning.) 

FATHER of lights, who wakenest the eyes of 
man to look upon the dayspring that makes 
all things new, we praise Thee for Thy 
care over us through the silent watches of the 
night, and hail with thanksgiving the fresh- 
ness of the morning. 

O Thou, by whose mercy we have all been 
spared through the week that is past. Thy chil- 
dren draw nigh to worship Thee with gladness 
on the morning of our Saviour's resurrection. 
It is the day which Thou hast made; assist us 
to rejoice in it and be glad. 

Be pleased, O Lord, to bless, this day, the 
preaching of the Word of Thy grace. Anoint 
the lips of Thy ministers. Open the ears of 
all who hear, and turn their hearts to Thee. 
Over the whole earth let the gospel of mercy 
run and have free course. Set at liberty the 
bondmen of sin. Let the feet of such as go 
astray in error or in doubt be turned into the 
way of truth. Let careless souls be aroused 
and the hard heart be melted. For every 
sower of the seed of life we beg Thy blessing, 
which giveth increase. Animate and direct in 
their sacred office all pastors, missionaries, and 
Sunday-school teachers. Lend to every one 

(175) 



176 ALONE WITH GOD. 

who speaks for Jesus, courage and ardor, wis- 
dom and hopefulness; that the glory of His 
cross may be spread abroad in every place. 

Consider, Vv^e entreat Thee, the wants of 
such as through sickness or domestic duty are 
withheld from public worship. Vouchsafe 
them access to Thy throne of mercy, and may 
Thy Spirit be their guest. 

Assuage the anxiety of those who watch 
beside the sick or dying. Help all who nurse 
little children to bear with them in gentleness. 
Comfort the bed-ridden and the aged. Forsake 
not Thy servants who are old and grayhaired, 
but cheer their failing hearts with the prospect 
of a brighter home. Enable all who are called, 
in the needful service of others, to sacrifice a 
portion of their day of rest, to do it cheerfully 
in the spirit of love; and do Thou Thyself 
compensate them for the sacrifice by the rich 
treasures of Thy grace. 

The Lord be pleased to listen to the voice of 
these our supplications. The Lord cause all 
labor which is done for Christ our King to be 
our delight, and all rest to be wearisome which 
is not rest in Him. The Lord grant that what 
things are pleasing unto Him we may ardently 
desire and fully attain. The Lord lift up the 
light of His countenance upon us all this day, 
and bless His whole Church with peace. 
Through the Name of Thine only Son, Jesus 
Christ, our Saviour. Amen I 



TT V 



FAJ^IILY WO B SHIP, 17 



II. 

(Lord's Day Morning.) 

WE BLESS Thee with lowly hearts, O Lord, 
because Thou hast spared us to enter 
once more upon Thy day of rest wherein 
Thou art wont to pour out blessings abundantly 
upon Thy children. Give us, we entreat Thee, 
a larger measure of the Holy Spirit. Visit and 
revive our weary spirits. Grant us a godly 
sorrow for sin, wholesome knowledge of our 
own defects, and hearty desire after spiritual 
benefits. Admit us this day, with all Thy 
Christian worshipers, to the bliss of forgive- 
ness and the fellowship of the saints. He veal 
to us, as to Thy whole Church, the glory of 
Thy love in the face of Jesus Christ. May this 
day of privilege assist each one of us to live 
the new life of faith in the Son of God and of 
obedience to Thy holy will. Eefresh us with 
Thy ffrace, and bring forth in us all the sweet 
and profitable fruits of good living, through 
the indwelling of Thy Holy Spirit. 

Let Thy word, O Father, which Thou hast 
given for the healing of the nations, be pub- 
lished far and near this day. Touch with fire 
the lips of Thy messengers. Open to Thy 
message the hearts of those that hear. Draw 
the wistful, the wandering, and the weary 
within Thy fold. Comfort all penitents with 
the assurance of pardon. Sprinkle the guilty 
who confess their faults with the blood of 
cleansing. Carry in Thy bosom, safe from 
harm, the young and tender. 

Grant that they may constantly escape the 
12 



178 ALONE WITH GOD, 

rough trials of life and the malice of their 
spiritual foe. Bless for them to-day the lesson 
of the Church, of the home, and of the school, 
that, being nurtured in Thy doctrine, they may 
be trained for Thy service. 

Let the sick, and such as by reason of need- 
ful duty at home cannot attend Thy house of 
prayer, be mercifully assisted to raise their 
affections unto Thyself, while in private they 
wait upon Thy blessing. Deny them not the 
welcome refreshment of Thy Word. Withhold 
not from them the helpful influence of Thy 
Spirit. But upon them and upon us all, and 
upon Thy Church universal, redeemed unto 
Thy praise, be grace, mercy, and peace, for 
Jesus' sake. Amen I 



III. 

(Lord's Day Morning.) 

IT IS good for us, O Lord, that Thou hast cast 
this island in the stream, and builded the 
Lord's day all around wherein we stand and 
are secure. No sound of secular occupation 
disturbs us; we are at rest. And we lift up 
our thoughts unto themes which the week dis- 
allows, and have leisure of meditation, and 
can draw very near to Thee and abide under 
the shadow of Thy wing. ]S[ow we are no 
longer chafed and fretted by care ; no long'er 
heated by rivalries one with another; we can 
look out, as from a window, and see the storm 
of worldly things out of which we have come, 
and pass judgment upon them, and measure 



FAMILY WOE SHIP. 179 

again our thoughts and our joys — yea, search 
into the deep places of our heart and know our 
own selves before Thee. 

Thou, O God, canst quiet the quaking heart 
as easily as Thou dost the storm and the rush- 
ing of the waves. We beseech Thee to take to 
Thyself to-day the unquiet, the disturbed, those 
that suffer in mind, and speak those words of 
€onsolation to them which they need •,.J[or Thou 
knowest who suffer from long depression, who 
suffer from the vexatious burdens of secular 
things; Thou knowest who seem to them- 
selves, unfortunate in life, cast out, neglected 
— those whose purposes are crossed, and 
whose very aims and ends of life seem to them 
subverted. Thou canst make them feel that 
they are dear to Thee, and that they possess 
Thee — that in Thee they have all joy and all 
Avealth. We beseech Thee that Thou wilt 
draw near to those that are in trouble, that 
they may not be alarmed by it, nor think that 
any strange thing hast surprised them. 

May they behold themselves initiated by their 
sorrow into the true brotherhood of the great 
human family ; may they perceive that they are 
united to Christ, the Head of man and the Cap- 
tain our salvation, made perfect through suffer- 
ing; and may they rejoice to have suffering, if 
through its ministration they may learn more 
and more of faith, of patience, of hope, of 
submission, and of love. 

We pray that Thou wilt deliver us from 
worldly-mindedness. Keep us from growing 
sordid under those duties which we must needs 
perform. May we watch our thoughts, lest we 



180 ALONE WITH GOD, 

should grow selfish by prosperity. May we 
walk humbly before God, and not fail to rec- 
ognize that spiritua,! connection between Thy 
blessing and our success ; and so may we desire 
every day to go back from all our outgoings, 
all our blossomings, and fruit-bearings, to Thee 
that art the root from which we spring. 

O Lord God, we pray that Thou wilt bless 
the young in this household. We pray also for 
other households; may we love each other's 
children ; may we have sympathy in the care 
and burden of their rearing, and help each 
other. We beseech Thee that our children 
may not forget what love their parents have 
for them; and, as they grow up to years of 
discretion, may they enter into the blessedness 
and treasure of Christian knowledge and of 
Christian life. 

Grant that we may be held back from all 
malign and passionate influences, that we may 
be conscientious and earnest, yet full of love. 
May we forget no truths in our zeal for any 
truth; may we understand the whole will of 
God, and be kept in the very spirit of Christ, 
and do our Master's work in our Master's 
spirit. For Christ's sake. Amen I 

ly. 

(Monday Morning.) 

OLoRD, who art good and ready to forgive, 
and plenteous in mercy unto all that call 
upon Thee, we thank Thee that our days 
are not passed away in Thy wrath. We are 



FAMILY WO B SHIP, 1^81 

not consumed by thine anger, but are made 
glad by Thy love. Thou art gracious to us 
and full of compassion, our refuge in time of 
trouble, our strength and our song. 

Help us to remember through this week the 
vows which we uttered yesterday, and the res- 
olutions which we formed to obey Thy com- 
mandments. Suffer us not to be carried away 
from Thee by the returning tide of our com- 
mon life. May the vision of Thy glory remain 
with us, undimmed by the mists and clouds of 
unbelief and sin. Do Thou in Thy great mercy 
remember our prayers even when we forget 
them. Leave us not to ourselves: our trust is 
in Thee. 

If any sorrow should fall upon us, let not 
our faith in Thy goodness be shaken. If we 
require chastisement for our own sins, may we 
remember that whom the Lord loveth He chas- 
teneth; and if we suffer through the sins of 
others, may we take it patiently, knowing that 
Thou hast laid on Christ the sins of us all. 

Watch over those whom we love, and keep 
them in Thy ways. Be with them on sea or 
on land ; and whether they be near to us or far 
away, may they all dwell in Thee. 

Bless all Christian people, and may they all 
live under the constant control of Thy great 
love for them, and may they be saved from the 
perils which beset them in this world by their 
hope of eternal glory. Hear us, O Lord, and 
have mercy upon us for Christ's sake. Amen! 



182 ALONE WITH GOD. 

V. 

(Monday Morning.) 

OGoD, Thou art our God; early will we 
seek Thee. Because Thy lovingkindness 
is better than life, therefore our lips shall 
praise Thee. 

We bless Thee that Thou hast been about us 
by night as a shade upon our right hand, so 
that, spared by Thy providence, our eyes awake 
to greet the new day. We thank Thee for 
strength restored through sleep, and for the 
spiritual refreshment we yesterday enjoyed as 
we thought of Thy lovingkindness in the midst 
of Thy temple. 

^ow. Lord, that we enter upon our every- 
day duties, assist us to perform our vows. Our 
desire is to devote every hour of the day and 
every talent we possess to the service of Him 
who purchased us with His own blood. We 
are not our own. Thine we are, and Thee 
would we serve. Suffer no gift of thine to lie 
unused, or to be misspent in the service of sin. 
May we bring forth fruit unto holiness, that 
the end may be life everlasting. 

Defend us, great Captain of our salvation, 
against the errors which mislead us, and the 
foes that waylay our steps as Christian pil- 
grims. Give us a clear eye to see the path of 
duty, and confidence to know that it will prove 
the path of safety. May self-interest never 
tempt us aside from what integrity requires ; 
nor the dread of consequences make our hand 
falte* in doing what is right. Grant us a brave, 
patient, and hopeful temper; that whatever 



FAMILY WOBSHIP. 183 

trouble may befall, we may seek before every- 
thing else the kingdom of God and his right- 
eousness. 

O God, we beg of Thee an open hand and a 
generous heart. Keep our ears from hearing 
scandal, and our tongue from bearing tales. 
Cause us to delight in the prosperity of our 
fellow-men, and in their adversity to succor 
them cheerfully. For ourselves we ask neither 
poverty nor riches, but that Thou wouklst 
choose our inheritance for us, and teach us to 
meet all changes of fortune with a placid mind. 
Shouldst Thou darken our home with loss or 
fear of change, Lord, help us to resign with 
submission what we have enjoyed with tem- 
perance. Spare to us one another's love, we 
humbly pray Thee. Let life and health be 
prolonged; but if Thy wisdom see good to 
afflict us, hold us back from murmuring, and 
instruct U3 how to say, ''Thy will be done." 

These, and all other needful mercies, we beg 
for the sake of thine onlv-beo^otten Son, our 
Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen ! 



VI. 

(Monday Morning.) 

OLoRD, we thank Thee for the tender 
care with which Thou hast watched over 
us during the hours of sleep, and for the 
comfort and health in which we arise this morn- 
ing. Help us to carry into the busy hours of 
the week all the holy impressions and resolu- 
tions of Thy day. Grant us grace to pursue 



184 ALONE WITH GOD, 

our seciila^r calling in a Christian spirit. May 
our most trivial occupations be ennobled by 
the principles of the gospel of Christ ; may all 
our Avorks be sanctified by the Word of God 
and prayer. May we honor Thee by the 
uprightness and integrity of our conduct, by 
the unselfishness and generosity of our spirit, 
and by our endeavor in all tilings to obey the 
law of Christ. May we not covet the wealth 
of this world, but desire to employ whatever 
we gain for the good of those who are dear to 
us., and for the service of our Lord. Whilst 
not slothful in business, may we be fervent in 
spirit, serving the Lord. Whether we eat or 
drink, or whatever we do, may we do all for 
the glory of God. 

And, Father, we pray that in our home life 
we may act worthily of Thee. May we be 
ever conscious of the presence of our Lord, and 
seek to manifest His spirit. May we be gentle 
and forbearing toward each other, and faithful 
in rendering toward all in the household their 
respective dues. May we minister to one 
another's welfare, and guard against selfish- 
ness in thought and word and deed. Save us 
from luxury and display, from pride and vain- 
glory, from the snares of ambition and the 
desire of human applause, and help us to walk 
humbly with our God. 

May those who are young, especially, learn 
to value everything according to its tendency 
to make them just and pure and good. May 
they become truly wise through the teaching 
of Thy Holy Spirit. 

At all times we are exposed to temptation, 
and in the excitement and absorption of busi- 



F^iMILY WOBSHIP. 1S5 



ness we are liable to forget our danger. Let 
us not be off our guard this day. Suffer us 
to run into no sin, but keep us in all our ways. 
May we be in the fear of the Lord all i\\Q day 
long, and may the remembrance of Thy presence 
be our strength. 

O most merciful Father, we pray Thee to for- 
give all our sins, and to preserve us by Thy 
mighty power through faith unto salvation. 
We pray for all blessings through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen ! 



VII. 

OGoD, our Heavenly Father, by whose love 
all creatures are made blessed, we give 
thanks for all that makes Thee known to 
us, and bless Thy name for every gift of Thine ; 
for our parents and teachers, companions and 
friends ; for our homes and our work, and all 
that makes us happy. We bless Thee for Thy 
tender care ; for Thine eye upon us by day and 
by night; for Thy Holy Spirit in our hearts; 
for Thy correction when we err, and Thy for- 
giveness when we repent; and for the Savior 
who turns us from evil ways to Thy holy and 
blessed service. We pray Thee for a pure 
heart and a right spirit, that we may do that 
which is pleasing unto Thee. Make us careful 
not to offend in thought, or word, or deed. 
May we speak the truth always and love it 
forever. As we grow in years may we grow 
in wisdom, and in favor with God and man. 
When we sin, do Thou forgive us; when we 



186 ALONE WITH GOD. 

repent, do Thou restore us. When we wander, 
bring us back; and when we are careless, O 
Lord, do Thou correct us. Breathe into our 
souls, O heavenly Father, the love of whatso- 
ever is true, and beautiful, and good. May we 
fear to be unfaithful, and have no other fear. 
Forgive us all our sins, and keep us from sin- 
ning again. Help us to remember that we are 
Thy children, and belong to Thee. Enable us 
to love others as Thou hast loved us. Make us 
generous and kind to all, faithful in duty, 
truthful in speech, and sweet in temper. En- 
lighten our minds that we may know Thee, 
inspire our hearts that we may love Thee, and 
guide our wills that we may serve Thee for 
ever. 

Make us children of the light of the day ; 
upright, simple, free from guile. Make us 
faithful and cheerful, just and kind to all. 
May we help and not hinder each other in the 
knowledge of Thee, and in the doing of Thy 
will. Bless our neighbors and friends with the 
like gift of the heavenly grace, and so direct 
our paths and inspire our lives that we may all 
at last inherit that kingdom which Thou hast 
prepared for them that love Thee; through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen! 



VIIT. 

ALMIGHTY God, we bless Thee for the rest of 
another night, and that we awake this day 
in life, and in so much health and enjoy- 
ment. We beseech Thee to shine upon us, 
and teach us how to spend the coming day. 



FA2dILY WOBjSIIIP, 187 

May all Ave do be clone honestly and faithfully. 
Preserve and deepen our trust in Thee and Thy 
providence. Increase our confidence in Thy 
love, wisdom, and justice; that so we may not 
live without God in the world, Whatsoever 
our hands find to do may we do it with our 
might. May we begin our labor modestly and 
continue it in self-forgetfulness. Deliver us 
from all weakness, and feartulness from want 
of purpose or misgiving. Grant us simplicity 
and earnestness in our ways; and whether we 
succeed in our piu'poses or fail, may Ave be 
upright in heart before Thee. Preserve us this 
day from all sloth and idleness, and from the 
misuse of Avhat Thou hast intrusted to our 
care ; and forasmuch as the business of this life 
is apt to steal our hearts from Thee, give us 
grace to remember that Ave have a Master in 
heaA^en, and to liA^e as seeing Him Avho is 
iuAdsible. 

In our temptations guard us, and in all diSi- 
culty uphold us. Thou hast taught us not to 
think of ourselA^es only, but also of the Avants 
of others, and Ave remember before Thee all 
AA^hoare burdened and oppressed; those Avhose 
hopes haA^e been crushed, and Avhose purposes 
are overthroAvn. We remember all who are 
afilicted by poA^erty, or worn doAvn by illness ; 
the Aveary and heaAW laden; those Avho are 
enduring wrong, or suffering for righteousness' 
sake; those also who are in darkness or de- 
spair. And Ave commend unto Thee, O Thou 
Father of our spirits, those Avho are about to 
depart this life, beseecliing Thee to grant unto 
them the spirit of tranquillity and trustfulness. 



188 ALOYE WITH GOD, 



May they put their hope in Thee ; and, having 
passed through the valley of the shadow ot 
death, may they enter into the rest that 
remaineth for the people of God. 

Help us, O God, to spend this day, as if it 
were our last on earth, in willing obedience to 
Thy Holy Will and when the end of our earthly 
pilgrimage shall have been reached, receive us 
all into our heavenly home, through riches of 
grace in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen! 



IX. 

OLoRD God, Thou art our refuge and our 
hope; in Thee alone we rest: for we find 
all to be weak and insufficient but Thee. 
Many friends cannot profit, nor strong helpers 
assist, nor prudent counsellors advise, nor the 
books of the learned afford comfort, nor any 
precious substance deliver, nor any place give 
shelter, unless Thou Thyself cloth assist, 
strengthen, console, instruct and guard us. 

To Thee, therefore, do we lift up our eyes; 
in Thee, our God, the Father of mercies, do 
we put our trust. Bless and sanctify our 
souls, that they may become thy holy habita- 
tion, and the seat of Thine eternal glory; and 
let nothing be found in us displeasing in Thy 
sight. Protect us and keep us amidst all 
dangers; and, accompanying us by Thy grace, 
direct us along the way of peace to Thine ever- 
lasting home, where, with all the redeemed 
and sanctified, we shall praise Thee forever 
through Jesus Christ our Eedeemer. Amen! 



FAMILY W OB SHIP, 189 



X. 

OLoRD Almighty, who art merciful and 
gracious, long-suffering and of great 
goodness, we approach Thee as the God 
of mercy, imploring Thee to hear these our 
prayers, and to pardon the multitude of our 
sins, for the sake of Jesus Christ. Day after 
day Ave add to the number of our transgres- 
sions; every night we have the sins of the 
preceding day to repent of; and every morning 
we have reason to fear lest we should again 
yiekl to temptation, and return to our former 
iniquities. O Lord, put Thy Spirit into all our 
hearts; that we, being made pure and holy in 
our secret thoughts, may not fail to perform 
all that is good and acceptable in Thy sight. 

Dispose each of us on this day habitually to 
employ our several faculties in Thy service. 
While we pursue the various duties of our 
calling, may we have a single eye to Thy glory ; 
and may we undertake no employment on 
which we cannot hope for Thy blessing. May 
no spirit of self-indulgence, no loA^e of ease, 
no dread of opposition, no fear of shame, pre- 
vent our laying out our lives heartily in Thy 
service. Make us willing to deny ourselves, 
that we may live unto Thee. Teach us to 
enter into the spirit of those Christians and 
Apostles of old, who counted not their lives 
dear unto themselves, so that they might finish 
their course with joy. Grant unto every mem- 
ber of this family Thy peace, and all Thy 
heavenly consolations; and make us to be of 
one heart and of one mind, praising Thee for 



190 ALONE WITH GOD, 

Thy mercies, praying to Thee for Thy grace, 
and uniting in the confession of our daily sins 
before Thee. 

Establish us in Thy faith, and fear, and love; 
and enlighten us, that we may understand Thy 
whole will concerning us. Where we mistake, 
have pity on our errors ; and if we have wan- 
dered from the right way, do Thou in mercy 
bring us back. Lead us, O Lord, into the 
paths of righteousness and peace. May we 
watch our hearts, and bridle our tongues, and 
govern our tempers. May we be ready to for- 
give, even as we hope to be forgiven. May we 
be steadfast and immovable, always abounding 
in the work of the Lord, knowing that our 
labor shall not be in vain in the Lord. 

We now commit ourselves to Thee for this 
day; help us to live according to these our 
prayers ; and thus may w^e be prepared for Thy 
heavenly kingdom; we ask it for our Saviour's 
sake. Amen! 

XL 

WE BLESS Thee, our Father in heaven, that 
Thou hast kept us through another 
night, in which Thou hast given rest and 
sleep. 

We rejoice that Thou hast brought us to 
behold the light of another day, with its duties 
and privileges. We thank Thee that our lives 
have been precious in Thy sight. And now we 
pray Thy guidance throughout this day to 
which Thy mercy has brought us. Give us 
to-day our daiiy bread. Forgive our sins. 



FAMILY WOE SHIP. 191 

Help us to forgive those who wrong us. AVe 
invoke Thy blessing in its fulness upon our 
loved ones, whether they kneel with us here 
this morning, or are far from us. Thou art 
near to all. Keep, O God, from sickness, from 
danger, and from sin. May the consciousness 
of Thy love go with us, and Thy presence 
guide us through this day. We ask not that 
we may walk in our own way, but in Thy way. 
Help us to do Thy will this day. May we 
labor to be accepted in the Beloved, whose we 
are and whom we serve. For Jesus sake. 
Amen! 



EVENING PRAYERS. 



I. 

(Lord's Day Evening.) 

O Almighty God, whom truly to know is 
eternal life: give us grace to approach 
Thee this evening with penitent and be- 
lieving hearts, and to enjoy communion with 
Thee, by Thy Holy Spirit, through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. 

We thank Thee, O God, for the opportuni- 
ties which have been this day vouchsafed us, 
of worshipping Thee and communing with 
Thee in Thy house of prayer. It is of Thy 
mercy alone that Thou hast borne with us all 
these years, hast not cast us away for our 
ingratitude, nor cut us off in our wickedness. 
Grant that our hearts may be so touched by 
the remembrance of Thy long patience and 
forbearance toward us, that we may give our- 
selves up to Thee in loving devotion, and walk 
before Thee in true holiness all the remaining 
days of our life. 

Forgive, O Father, for Jesus Christ's sake, 
all the coldness and indifference, all the wan- 
dering of thought and imagination, which 
Thou hast seen in our worship, in public and 
in private, this day. Quicken our interest in 
holy and heavenly things. Give us a living 
faith in the Word of Thy revelation, and grace 

(192) 



FA JULY WOP, SHIP. 193 

both to love what Thou commandest and to 
desire that which Thou dost promise. 

Bless with us, O Lord, all who are dear to 
us, our relatives, friends and neighbours. 
Bless the congregation in which we worship, 
and those who minister to us in holy things. 
"Unite all who name the name of Christ in one 
hope and faith and love. May they be one 
flock under One Shepherd, Jesus Christ, Our 
Lord, to Avhom with the Father, and the Holy 
Spirit, be all glory and praise forever and ever. 
Amen! 

II. 

(Lord's Day Evening.) 

OGOD, our heavenly Father, in Thee the 
whole family of Thy saints rests and is 
glad. Let Thy blessing abide on all who 
have worshipped with us to-day, on all for 
whom we have prayed, and on all who have 
been praying for us. Give the earth peace, O 
God, and crown the year with increase. Fill 
our land with piety, virtue, and contentment. 
Kule, in Thy fear, the liearts of those who are 
our rulers. Be pleased to guide the young in 
Thy ways of pleasantness. Let the parched 
places of Thy Church be revived with grace. 
Widen the boundaries of Thy kingdom. Clothe 
with power and with salvation the ministers of 
Thy Word, and cause the ends of the earth to 
see the salvation of our God. 

God of the night as of the day, who hast 
drawn around Thy weary world the curtain of 
darkness, let all Thy children sleep secure. 
Give pure and blameless slumber to every 



194 ALONE WITH GOD. 

inmate of our dwelling, with restoration of 
Vis'or to serve Thee through the working days 
that follow. As Lord's days come and go, may 
€ach one bring us nearer to our home, and 
leave us fitter for it; till, purified and trained 
through the discipline of our present state. 
Thou dost bid us exchange these brief intervals 
of rest below for the endless worship and sin- 
less fellowship of our Father's house above. 

Grant this, O God, for the honor of our 
Advocate and Mediator, Jesus Christ. Amen ! 

III. 

(Lord's Day Evening.) 

OGoD, whose home on high hast perfect 
rest. Thy children bless Thee for the still- 
ness and the hush of this one day, where- 
by Thou dost break for them the care and toil 
of the working week. We thank Thee for a 
pause in labor ; for seasons of sacred praise ; 
for the refreshing of the heart through the 
intercourse of our home; for Thy house, for 
the Word of truth, and for all the sacred and 
hallowed influences of the day. Let Thy 
strength and Thy peace abide with us, we 
beseech Thee. We shall have need of both; 
for to-morrow will bring back the duties that 
exhaust, and the anxieties that fret us. Oh, 
let the memory of what we have experienced 
soothe us through the week. Make us the 
fiiiQV to serve, as seeing Thee beside us, feeling 
Thee to be very near. Breathe over all our 
common work the temper of our worship, and 
encourage us to sustain the better our earthly 



FAMILY WO B SHIP. 195 

load by the hope of Thy heavenly rest that 
xemaineth for those who love Thee. 

We commend to Thee the suffering, the sol- 
itary, and the bereaved. Show Thyself pitiful 
unto any among our friends or neighbours 
whose need, bv reason of sickness or other 
trial, we know to be exceeding great. Guard 
such as journey by sea or land. Assist the 
aged to compose themselves for their depar- 
ture. Be a protector to tempted innocence, 
and restrain the violence of power. Gently 
reconcile the mourner to his loss, and teach the 
widow's heart to lean upon Thyself. 

O Thou who slumbereth not, be pleased to 
bestow upon all our household refreshing sleep. 
Lighten our darkness, we beseech Thee. 
Defend us against all perils of this night. 
Keep us in holy concord. Grant us pure affec- 
tions, sound health and cheerful tempers. 
(Implant within our children Thy godly fear ; 
and so train them to the paths of wisdom and 
obedience, that unto their lives' end thev mav 
walk before Thee in holiness and righteous- 
ness.) 

Finally, O Father, we p"ay Thee to sanctify 
us, each one, through the changes and disci- 
pline of this mortal life, to the end that we 
miss not that everlasting repose, which Thou 
hast promised to Thy saints ; but, through the 
unspeakable merit of our Redeemer's passion, 
(to whom be endless praise!) may we, and all 
whom we love, be counted worthy to inherit 
the glory to be revealed, the inheritance incor- 
ruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. 
Amen ! 



196 ALONE WITH GOD. 

lY. 

AGAIN, O God, we come to render Thee 
thanks for the mercies of another day and 
to implore Thy care and blessing for the 
night. Vouchsafe, Eternal Father, rest to our 
weariness; when we are weak and restless, 
renew our strength. 

O Thou, who neither slumberest nor sleep- 
est, lighten our eyes with Thy light, that we 
sleep not in death. 

Keep us from all terror by night, and from 
the pestilence that walketh in darkness, as 
from the destruction at noonday. 

Give us rest, as from toil, so from every evil 
thought; and visit us with visions of wisdom, 
or with quiet of refreshment. 

From all illusion of fond fancy or terror, 
from evil remembrance, and evil designing, 
keep us, dear Lord. 

Thou in whose book all our members are 
written, grant us wholesome rest, free from 
terror and burthen, with holy trust and peace. 

Thou art our Maker and our Judge, but also 
our Father, Saviour, and Friend ; deny not the 
comfort of Thy Holy Spirit to Thy children. 

Shelter our slumber with the wing of Thy 
pity; let our awakening be in good time, a 
time of blessing and of prayer. 

Early in the morning will we seek Thee^ 
with thanksgiving and zeal for Thy service. 

Into Thy hands, O Lord, we commend our- 
selves, our spirits, souls, and bodies, to our 
Maker, Preserver, Life-giver. 

Bless with us every friend, benefactor, and 



FAMILY WOBSHIP, 197 

connection, whom Thou hast granted to us in 
goodness, and bound us to with duty. 

Guard our lying down, and our rising up, 
henceforth, Lord, and forever. 

Let us remember Thee in resting, and when 
we wake up, be present with Thee. 

AYe will lay us down in peace, and take our 
rest; for Thou, O Father, only makest us 
dwell in safety. For our Saviour's sake. 
Amen! 



Y. 

LORD, we beg most humbly that the service 
which we have this day offered unto Thee 
may find acceptance in Thine eyes. Nour- 
ished by Thy bounty, made joyful in Thy gifts, 
we desire to spend our time to Thy praise. 
The transgressions of this day lay not to our 
charge, we entreat Thee. But grant that, at 
peace with Thee and with all men, we may lay 
our tired bodies to the night's repose in child- 
like reliance upon Thy protection. Shepherd 
of Israel, give Thine angels charge over Thy 
people, that as Thou hast kept them in their 
ways by day, so they may be guarded through 
their rest by night. 

Visit with Thy divine charity the helpless, 
the sick, and the forlorn. May the slumber of 
infants be light and calm. Let not pain dis- 
turb tlie pillow of our little ones, nor any 
harm threaten our dwelling. Be near our dis- 
tant dear ones and shield them from every 
alarm. Let happy thoughts of Thee engage 
the wakeful hours of the aged; but banish 



198 ALONE WITH GOD. 

vexing regret from the memory of the 
mourner. 

Finally, we commend one another to the 
tender keeping of the Heavenly Father, and to 
the comfortable fellowship of the Holy Spirit, 
and to the sympathy of the ever-blessed Son, 
our Brother and our Advocate : unto whom be 
glory on earth as it is in heaven. Amen! 

yi. 

ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father, we 
would come before Thee this night, con- 
fessing Gur sins. Another day is gone to 
its account; and we know and feel, O Lord, 
in how many things it must witness against us. 
We have left undone those things which we 
ought to have done, and we have done those 
things which we ought not to have done. We 
have been often careless and worldly, selfish 
and indifferent ; we have neglected opportuni- 
ties of doing good both by word and action. 
We have not served Thee this day, nor loved 
Thee as we ought to have done. Forgive us, 
for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake, all that is 
past. Give us grace, before we rest this night, 
to devote ourselves entirely to Thee, that we 
may be Thine in body and soul, and walk be- 
fore Thee in love till we come to be with Thee 
for ever. 

Bless with us, O Heavenly Father, all whom 
we love, and who love us; all to whom we are 
indebted for any help or comfort in our lives; 
all who are under our charge, authority or in- 
fluence. 



FAMILY WO B SHIP. 199 

Accept, O God, our praises and thanksgiv- 
ings for all Thy mercies bestowed upon us. 
For life and health, for food and clothing, and 
for all the comforts of our home; for every 
faculty and opportunity for kindness and af- 
fection and brotherly love ; for our knowledge 
of Thee as our Father and of Jesus Christ as 
our Saviour, and of the Ploly Spirit as our 
Comforter; for the means of grace and com- 
munion with Thee, and for the hope which 
Thou hast giv^en us of a place hereafter in Thy 
presence. AVe beseech Thee to fill us with Thy 
love and heavenly benediction, through Jesus 
Christ, our only Mediator and Redeemer. 
Amen ! 

VII. 

BLESSED Lord, we are gathered again before 
Thee, to ask Thy blessing upon the hours 
of darkness, and to thank Thee for the 
mercies of the past day. Pour upon us the 
spirit of grace and supplication, that no wan- 
dering or irreverent thoughts may mingle with 
this offering of our evening sacrfice, through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Take this house and every inmate of it, 
under Thy gracious protection this night. 
May we lie down at peace with Thee, through 
our Lord Jesus Christ; may w^e rest in Thy 
charge, who slumberest not nor sleepest, and 
aw^ake to be with Thee all the day long. 

Look in mercy, O Lord, upon the earth 
which Thou hast made, and upon all the sor- 
rows and miseries of Thy creatures. We 



200 ALONE WITH GOD, 

would commend especially to Thy Fatherly 
compassion all who mourn for sin; all upon 
whom the hand of punishment and judgment 
lies heavily, and who have not yet found for- 
giveness and cleansing in the blood and in the 
spirit of Jesus Christ. Lift up the light of Thy 
countenance upon them, O Lord, who wouldest 
not that any should perish, but that all should 
come to repentance. 

Bless Thy Church universal, and make it the 
joy and the blessing of the whole earth. Grant 
that all who profess and call themselves Chris- 
tians may walk according to the Word and the 
example of their Lord and Master. 

O heavenly Father, make us, and all who are 
dear to us, true and living members of the 
body of Jesus Christ ; that, living here in the 
light of Thy truth, we may attain at last to 
the light of everlasting life, and dwell forever 
in Thy heavenly presence, through our Lord 
Jesus Christ; to whom, with Thee and the 
Holy Spirit, be all honor and glory, world 
without end. Amen! 

VIII. 

ALMiaHTY God, Creator of heaven and earth, 
who from the beginning didst appoint the 
day and the night to succeed each other, 
and hast now by Thy providence brought us 
once again through the hours of toil to the 
time of resting; be with us, we pray Thee, 
during the season of darkness, and cause the 
light of Thy countenance to shine upon our 
souls. 



FAJMILY WOBSHIP. 201 

O God, we cannot tell how often we have 
offended Thee this day ; Thou alone searchest 
the heart, and seest us as we are. Show us, 
we pray Thee, that which is amiss in us, that 
by Thy grace we may truly repent and strive 
earnestly to amend our lives. Forgive all that 
is past, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
Avho died for the sins of the world. 

Let Thy Fatherly hand be over us through 
this night, and through the days which may be 
yet to come. Give us grace to be ever Avaiting 
and watching for the coming of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

Bless our country. Give wisdom to those 
who rule ; and to all who are under authority 
a spirit of docility and obedience. May we be 
a nation fearing Thee and working righteous- 
ness. 

Finally, we pray for one another, and for all 
"those who are dear to any of us. Unite us as 
one household in the bonds of Christian love. 
May our hearts be set to please Thee in all 
things and to advance that kingdom which is 
peace and righteousness and joy. O Thou of 
whom every family in heaven and earth is 
named, be the Father, we pray Thee, of this 
household, and let Thy peace and Thy blessing 
rest upon it day and night, till we all come, in 
Thy mercy and goodness, to that heavenly 
home whence we shall go out no more forever. 

Grant this, we humbly beseech Thee, for the 
sake of Thy Son Jesus Christ, our only 
Mediator ancl Eedeemer. Amen! 



202 ALOXE WITH GOD, 



IX. 

(Saturday Evening.) 

WE THANK Thee, O Lord, for the wonderful 
goodness of Thy providence during an- 
other day and another week. Still we are 
preserved by Thy kind and effectual care. Our 
health continues, our home comforts are per- 
petuated by Thee. We meet together to-night 
and close the week once more in peace. The 
shadow of no great trouble has fallen on us. 
Thanks for ever be unto Thy blessed name; 
and may the love which has followed us 
through all the scenes of the day, and all the 
circumstances of the Aveek, be with us through 
the watches of this night. May we lie down 
under Thy protection, sleep through Thy be- 
stowment of rest, and wake refreshed by that 
slumber which is Thy gift and will prepare us 
for the holy engagements of the coming Lord's 
day. May earthly cares and troubles be for- 
gotten by us, except so far as they may stimu- 
late our devotion, and furnish subject for 
prayer and holy meditation. All we ask is in 
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom, 
with Thee and the Holy Spirit, be everlasting 
praises. Amen! 

X. 

(Saturday Evening.) 

MOST holy and most merciful God, we give 
Thee thanks that Thou hast brought us in 
safety through all the perils of another 
week. And whether Thou hast led us through 



FAMILY WOE SHIP. 203 

green pastures and beside still waters, or along" 
rough and rocky paths, we bless Thee that 
Thou hast not forsaken us, nor hast Thou suf- 
fered us to wander altoo^ether beyond the hear- 
ing of Thy voice or the reach of Thy protecting 
hand. We began the week with Thee, and 
with Thee we close it. 

Xow that the day of rest and fellowship with 
Thyself is near, help us to escape from all that 
has irritated, vexed, and excited us as the week 
has been passing by. Give us Thy peace. 
May we cast our care upon Thee, that we may 
be at liberty to rejoice in the vision of Thy face, 
and to worship Thee with reverence and 
devout fear. Let not the transient disappoint- 
ments or the transient triumi)hs of our common 
life be permitted to come between our hearts 
and Thyself. 

We entreat Thee to let Thy Spirit rest on all 
those with whom we shall meet for worship. 
Prepare them for the great duty and the great 
blessedness to which they will be called. To- 
night, before they sleep, may such thoughts of 
Thvself come to them as shall m.ake them earn- 
estly long to see Thy glory. If any of them 
have never yet repented of their sin, reveal to 
them their sad estate, their guilt, and their 
peril, and grant them true repentance. 

Let all the Christian work which shall be 
done to-morrow be done devoutly and zeal- 
ously, wisely and hopefully; and may many 
who shall lie down to-night with their sins un- 
forgiven and their hearts unrenewed, obtain 
foro^iveness and eternal life before the comino: 
day of rest shall close. May the world be 



204 ALOXE WITH GOD. 

nearer to- Thee to-morrow night than it is now. 

Grant Thy good Spirit to Thy servant from 
whom we shall receive instruction in Christian 
truth and duty. May we be conscious that the 
words which we hear from his lips came first 
from Thee. 

Have us in Thy strong and merciful keeping 
to-niglit. Forgive all the sins we have com- 
mitted during the week. Forgive the sins of all 
whom we love. For Christ's sake. Amen! 

XL 

(Saturday Evening.) 

OUR Father, who art in heaven, at the 
close of another week we, Thy children, 
unite in offering to Thee our tributes of 
praise and thanksgiving. Keceive, we beseech 
T lee, the homage of our spirits to-night — the 
of'ering of our entire being to Thyself, and 
he Ip us more and more to love Thee with all 
our hearts. 

Wq thank Thee for the blessings of the week 
now closing. Life, time, reason, domestic 
and social happiness, protection from danger, 
deliverance from the power of the wicked one, 
and all the supplies of temporal and spiritual 
mercies have come to us from Thee. Thou 
hast opened thine hand and satisfied our 
desires — yea, hast abundantly exceeded all we 
could have asked or thought. O Lord, help us 
to praise Thee. Preserve us from insensibility, 
from hardness of heart, from receiving Thy 
mercies as necessary or common things. In 
each one we should see Thine hand; on each 



FAMILY won SHIP. 205 

should behold thine image and superscription ; 
while we should remember that all come to us 
through Christ, and for the sake of liis won- 
derful life and death. 

AVe pray Tliee to forgive the sins of the 
week. Our hearts condemn us for many 
thoughts, feelings, words, acts, which have 
been imlioly, and displeasing to Thee. Enter 
not into judgment w^ith us, O Lord. We pre- 
sent ourselves before Thee in the name of Jesus ; 
by renewed faith we appropriate to ourselves 
the perfect righteousness of Thy Son ; and we 
pray that for his sake our consciences may be 
cleansed, calmed, and purified, and our sins 
forgiven. 

Prepare us now for rest and the service of 
the Lord's day. Even on this its threshold, 
in this its outer court, we would feel its sacred 
influence. We bless Thee for Thy holy day. 
After the night's rest may it rise upon us 
calmly and brightly, whispering to us of Thy 
love and inviting us to Thy worship. -Thus as 
our weeks i)ass, and Lord's days come and go, 
may we, and all we love, be prepared for 
higher service, and nobler worship in the world 
of light and bliss. We thank Thee that there 
remaineth a rest for the people of God. By 
faith we would now enter into it, and by hope 
anticipate its future and perfect enjoyment. 
Teach and help us to live worthy of it, and at 
last permit us to form an unbroken circle in 
heaven; for the Iledeemer's sake. Amen! 



THANKS BEFORE MEALS. 



We give Thee thanks, Our Father, for these 
bounties of Thy providence, and pray Thee to 
sanctify them to the nourishment of our bodies, 
and to feed our spirits with Thy truth and 
grace; in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen! 

For these temporal gifts, and for all other 
mercies from Thy loving hand, accept, O 
Father, our grateful thanks; in Christ's name. 
Amen ! 

In these blessings now before us, we see 
the tokens of Thy loving care, most gracious 
Father, and tender Thee grateful acknowledg- 
ments; in Jesus' name. Amen! 

Lord God, heavenly Father, bless unto us 
these Thy gifts, which of Thy tender kindness 
Thou hast bestowed upon us; through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen! 

Almighty God, heavenly Father, we give Thee 
thanks for all Thy gifts and goodness; and 
pray Thee, as Thou feedest our bodies, so also 
graciously keep our souls in the true faith and 
confession of Thy name ; through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen! 

We give Thee thanks, O God our Father, for 
all Thy benefits, through Jesus Christ our Lord, 
who, with Thee, liveth and reigneth world 
without end. Amen! 

(206) 



FA JULY WORSHIP. 207 

Our heavenly Father, sanctify to our use, Ave 
beseech Thee, these provisions of Thy love, 
and us to Thyself and Thy service. Amen! 

We accept, O Lord, these gifts as from Thee, 
who art the giver of every good and perfect 
gift that descendeth from above. Teach us, in 
receiving them, as we live upon Thy bounty 
so to live for Thy glory; for Christ's sake. 
Amen! 

We praise Thee, O Father, for our daily 
bread, and all the blessings of Thy good provi- 
dence. Wliile we feed thus upon Thy bounty 
may we spend our strength in doing good ; in 
Jesus' name. Amen! 

Accept of our gratitude, O Lord, for this 
social and Christian fellowship, and for all the 
bounties of Thy x^rovidence and Thy grace; 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen ! 

O Lord, we greatly thank Thee, for life and 
all its blessings. We give Thee thanks tor the 
health and comforts of the morning, and for 
these means of life and health. We pray Thee, 
O Father, hear our prayer for the continuance 
of these favors, and accept of our thanksgiving; 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Ameii! 

Father, we thank Thee, that we lip.ve laid us 
down and slept and awaked; for Thou, God, 
hast preserved us. We thank Thee for food 
and raiment. Give us each day our daily bread. 
Bless us in Thy work, and bless all Thy workers ; 
in the name of Christ our Redeemer. Amen! 



CHILDREN'S EVENING PRAYERS. 



I. 

OLoRD Most High, who art our light and 
life, our strength and joy, our ever-present 
helper and defender, we come to confess 
our sins before Thee, and to pray for what we 
need. Give us the mind which was in Christ 
Jesus our Lord. Make us gentle and obedient, 
loving, brave, and true. Keep our childhood 
holy, and our youth pure and good, so that the 
longer we live we may grow more and more 
into the likeness of the perfect man. Thou 
knowest our temptations. Heavenly Father; 
help us to watch against them, and to win the 
victory over them, remembering that Thou 
hast promised to those who are faithful unto 
death a crown of life. Pity our weakness, 
Lord; we are Thy children, and the work of 
Thy hands ; Thou hast called us by our names, 
we are Thine. Send down upon us for our 
present need the dew of Thy heavenly grace. 
Thou hast made our bodies the temples of Thy 
presence, may our lives show forth Thy praise. 
Lord, hear our prayer, and let our cry come 
unto Thee for the sake of Thy dear Son, our 
Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen! 

(208) 



FA JULY W OB SHIP, 209 

n. 

IVfow the day is over, 
^ ^ Night is drawing nigh, 
Shadows of the evening 
Steal across the sky. 

1^0 w the darkness gathers. 

Stars begin to peep, 
Birds, and beasts, and flowers 

Soon will be asleep. 

Jesus, give the weary 

Calm' and sweet repose. 
With Thy tenderest blessing 

May our eyelids close. 

Grant to little children 

Visions bright of Thee, 
Guard the sailors tossing 

On the deep blue sea. 

Through the long night watches 
May Thine angels spread 

Their white wings above me. 
Watching round my bed. 

When the morning wakens, 

Then may 1 arise 
Pure and fresh and sinless 

In Thy Holy eyes. 

14 



210 ALOXE WITH GOD, 

III. 

Tesus, tender Shepherd, hear me, 
*^ Bless Thy little lamb to-night ; 
Through the darkness be Thou near me, 
Keep me safe till morning light. 

All this day Thy hand has led me. 
And I thank Thee for Thy care ; 

Thou hast clothed me, warmed and fed me, 
Listen to my evening prayer. 

Let my sins be all forgiven. 

Bless the friends I love so well; 

Take me when I die to heaven, 
Happy there with Thee to dwell. 

IV. 

T ORD, I have pass'd another day, 
-'-' And come to thank Thee for Thy care ; 
Forgive my faults in work and play. 
And listen to my evening prayer. 

Thy favor gives me daily bread. 

And friends, who all my wants supply; 

And safely now I rest my head, 

Preserved and guarded by Thine eye. 

Look down in pity, and forgive 

Whatever I've said or done amiss; 

And help me, every day I live. 

To serve Thee better than in this. 

Now, help me, every day I live, 

A helpless child beneath Thy care ; 

And condescend for Jesus' sake 
To listen to my evening prayer. 



FOR SPECIAL EVENTS AND SEASONS. 



On a Member of the Family Leaving Home. 

ALMIGHTY God, our Heavenly Father, of 
whom every family in heaven and earth is 
named, we bow once more before Thee as 
a united family. How gracious Thou hast 
been to us in all these years! We thank Thee 
for all Thou hast made us to each other, for 
the love that binds us together. Thou hast 
made us to dwell together in peace and unity, 
under this family roof- tree, and to share each 
other's joys and sorrows. And now, O Lord, 
our circle is about to be broken. We beseech 
Thy blessing upon him [or her] who now goes 
out from us. Shield him from danger of every 
kind. O do Thou strengtlien him by Thy 
grace that he may overcome the temptations 
that will beset his path. May he never forget 
Thee, nor his parents, nor any of the loved 
ones at the old home, nor the training he has 
here received. May he ever seek to honor the 
God of his father and of his mother, no matter 
what may be his surroundings or employment. 
May the enticements of the wicked one never 
allure him from the straight and narrow way 
that leadeth unto life. If he be led into sin, O 
do Thou grant him the grace of repentance, 
that he may seek Thy forgiveness, and renewed 
strength. Whether it ever be our lot in life to 

(211) 



212 ALONE WITH GOD. 

bow together again around the same family 
altar, grant, we beseech Thee, that we all may 
meet in Thy many-mansioned house, in 
heaven, to praise Thee eternally and go out no 
more forever. For Christ's sake. Amen! 



For Our Children. 

ALMIGHTY God, our ever-gracious Heavenly 
Father; among the gifts of Thy loving 
providence, for which we do humbly 
thank Thee, are the children whom Thou hast 
given us. But O, do Thou strengthen us for 
the duty Thou hast laid upon us of training 
them up for Thee. May we be careful to pro- 
vide, not only for their bodies and their minds, 
but especially for their moral and spiritual cul- 
ture. Forbid that we should train them only 
in the knowledge of this world and leave them 
in ignorance of Thy will and their obligations 
to obey it. Grant that we may realize that 
their present and future happiness and useful- 
ness depend far more on their religious train- 
ing, than on any uncertain riches or other 
material advantages we may bestow upon 
them. Give us patience and self-control, that 
we provoke them not to wrath, and help us, 
both by the example of our daily lives and by 
precept, to bring them up in the nurture and 
admonition of the Lord. May we not spoil 
them by over indulgence, on the one hand, nor 
embitter their lives by unreasonable exactions 
on the other. As Thou hast drawn us to Thee 
by love, so may we be enabled, by divine help, 
to bind our children to us, to our home and to 



I 



FAMILY IVOFcSinP, 213 

Thee, by cords of love. Save, O Lord, save 
our precious children from the snares of the 
wicked One, and in our Father's house may we 
all praise Thee at last, a united family, forever, 
through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to 
whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be 
glory evermore. Amen! 



On a Bright Day in Summer. 

OThou who makest the glorious sun go 
forth as a bridegroom out of his chamber, 
and rejoice as a giant to rim his course, so 
that nothing is hid from the heat thereof : we 
bless Thee for the light of this world ; for the 
joy of beholding the day; for the fruits and 
flowers with which Thou in Thy bounty hast 
decked the earth. We bless Thee for the gar- 
den and the tield; for the basket and the store. 
And yet, O Lord, what were these without 
Thyself? What were the light of the sun, if 
our souls were in the shadow of death and the 
night of ignorance? May the Sun of Kight- 
eousness, even the Lord Jesus Christ, never 
cease to shine within us. May the kindly 
warmth of Thy Holy Spirit penetrate our hearts 
with heavenly love. And so may our earthly 
be changed into Thy heavenly : and the desert 
of our nature rejoice and blossom as the rose. 
And may we, receiving evermore the good seed 
of Thy word, bring forth the fruit of righteous- 
ness to Thy praise and glory; through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen! 



214 ALONE WITH GOD, 

Christmas Day. 

ALMIGHTY God, who hast given Thy only- 
begotten Son to take our nature upon 
Him, and to be born of a pure virgin: 
Grant that we being regenerate, and made Thy 
children by adoption and grace, may daily be 
renewed by Thy Holy Spirit. May this glad 
and happy season be used by us for spiritual 
culture, and not marred by unseemly revelry. 
May there come to our souls a deeper sense of 
thine infinite love and grace; through the 
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and 
reigneth with Thee and the Holy Spirit, ever 
one God, world without end. Amen ! 



New Year's Day. 

GRANT, O God, now that we have entered 
on another year, that, for the sake of the 
truth, and for the sake of holiness, we 
may be lifted up to a higher life. May we 
endeavor to take a clearer and a truer concep- 
tion of duty. May we, for Christ's sake, and 
for the sake of his cause, consecrate ourselves 
afresh to Thee. Thou, O God, canst lift us 
up ; and only Thou canst do it. All our cour- 
age will be in vain, and all our good resolu- 
tions will sleep as sentinels over-wearied at 
their post, and we shall be surprised and 
destroyed, if Thou art not vigilant for us, and 
Thy grace is not exercised in our behalf. We 
stand importuning, not because Thou needest 
to be importuned, and art reluctant to bestow 



FAMILY WO B SHIP. 215 

mercies upon us. We know not why we do it, 
except that Thou hast told us to ask for such 
things as we desire. 

AYe beseech Thee to grant to us that blessing 
which cannot be mistaken; that voice which 
can come only from Him that speaketh to the 
inmost consciousness. Grant to every one of 
us the incoming of Thy Spirit. Grant to every 
one a holy joy, a heavenly gladness. May 
every one feel that he is made the guest of God 
Himself. And grant that all our offerings of 
song, and prayer, and meditation, and instruc- 
tion, maybe acceptable in Thy sight, and bene- 
ficial to us. May this year be marked by us as 
one of spiritual growth, and wilt Thou grant 
us such temporal prosperity as may be good 
for us. We ask it through Jesus, the Redeemer. 
Amen! 

In Time of Affliction. 

O Merciful God, and heavenly Father, 
who hast taught us in Thy holy Word 
that Thou dost not willingly afflict or 
grieve the children of men ; look with pity, we 
beseech Thee, upon the sorrows of Thy ser- 
vants. In Thv wisdom Thou hast seen fit to 
visit us with trouble, and to bring distress upon 
us. Remember us, O Lord, in mercy; sanctify 
Thy fatherly correction to us; endue our souls 
with patience under our affliction, and with 
resignation to Thy blessed will; comfort us 
with a sense of Thy goodness; lift up Thy 
countenance upon us, and give us peace; 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen! 



216 ALONE WITH GOD, 



In Winter. 

OGoD, who shuttest up the earth in winter, 
that Thou mayest afterward Yisit and 
bless it : teach us by this Thy course in 
nature to trust Thee in Thy dealings with our 
souls. May we never be discouraged at the 
hiding of Thy face, nor cast away hope for 
want of inward comfort. Teach us that, as 
nature needs the check of the frost and the buf- 
feting of the storm, so do we require Thy chas- 
tisements to keep down our pride, and seasons 
of trouble to establish and settle our faith. And 
as in due time Thy south wind bloweth, and 
Thou renewest the face of the earth, so do Thou, 
O Lord, graciously carry on the work which 
Thou hast begun in Thy servants. Eeturn, O 
Lord, our strength, and lift up the light of Thy 
countenance upon us, and visit us with Thy 
salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen ! 



For the Young on Uniting With the Church. 

ACCEPT, we beseech Thee, our Father, the 
consecration which Thou hast inclined 
these our children to make of themselves 
to Thee this day. We thank Thee that they 
are beginning so early to serve Thee. We 
thank Thee that it is not the fragments of their 
life that they bring with them. We thank 
Thee that they have consecrated the dew of 
their youth to their God, and that they mean 
to live a life of purity, of love, of truth, of 



FAMIL Y WO B SHIP. 217 

self-denial, and of activity for others. And we 
pray that the generous and godly purposes 
which have been inspired in their hearts, and 
liave ripened into convictions and decisions in 
them, may be nourished by Thy grace, and 
perpetuated by Thy Spirit, which gave them 
birth. And may they never be ashamed of 
Christ or His cause. May they never be weary 
of well-doing. May they begin at once to do 
all the duty that is made known to them. May 
they have manifested in their hearts the truth 
of Thy word, that Thy yoke is easy and that 
Thy burden is light. May they have hope and 
courage inspired from the very beginning, by 
victories over easily besetting sins. And to 
Thy name shall be the praise, Father, Son and 
Spirit. Amen! 

On the Birth of a Child. 

LIFE, O Lord, is from Thee, and the conse- 
cration of life is from Thee. May the new 
life committed to our care and love as a 
family be nurtured faithfully for Thee, and be 
ever in Thy gracious keeping. If the uncon- 
sciousness of infancy shall be followed by the 
intelligence of riper years, may that intelligence 
be taught of Thee, so that the heart may be a 
heart to serve Thee in this world, and to find 
its portion in Thee in the world to come. For 
Thy goodness and mercifulness in this eA'^ent 
we thank Thee, and beseech Thee to bow Thine 
ear to this our supplication, for the Saviour's 
sake. Amen! 



218 ALONE WITH GOD, 

On a Missionary Occasion.' 

OThou great Shepherd of the sheep, who 
didst come into this world to seek and to 
save that which was lost, and who hast 
promised to gather Thy flock out of all the 
places where they have been scattered in the 
cloudy and dark day, we ask Tlw blessing upon 
those who are laboring in Thy name among 
the heathen of our own and other lands. 
Cheer Thou them in their hours of sadness and 
discouragement, and may their faith in Tliy 
good promise never wholly fail. Shine in the 
dark places of the earth, O Thou, who art the 
light and life of men, until everywhere the 
jathers to the children shall make known Thy 
truth. Especially would we remember in our 
prayers those missionaries whose work is 
known to us, and to whose aid we stand 
pledged. May the example of their faithful- 
ness and courage make us more generous and 
more self-denying; more ready to help, more 
glad to give; and unto Thee, with the Father 
and the Holy Spirit, shall be the glory, world 
without end. Amen! 

On Behalf of Children. 

HEAVEXLY Father, we bless Thee for the 
love of childhood as seen in Jesus Christ. 
Look, we beseech Thee, upon the children 
of this family, and nurture them for Thyself by 
the grace of Thy Holy Spirit. May they grow 
up to call Thee blessed. Guard them, we pray 
Thee, against the snares to which youth is 



FA3IILY WO B SHIP, 219 

ever exposed. So order their path for them 
that they may continually serve Thee. Be 
with them in all the unforeseen experiences of 
life, that aided by Thee in all their times of 
need, their home and heritage at last may 
be with the Redeemer. This, O Lord, we 
earnestly beseech from Thee; in the name of 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen! 



For a Sick Child. 

MOST merciful Saviour, who lovest little 
children, and Thyself didst live as a 
little child upon the earth, we come to 
Thee in behalf of one whom we love. Thou 
art the Good Shepherd and carest for the lambs 
of Thy flock, leading them tenderly and bearing 
them in Thy gentle arms. Bring Thou this 
child, for whom our prayer is offered, through 
the time of sickness and danger. 'Teach him 
to be meek and loving and obedient like Thy- 
self. Keep him from all fretfulness and impa- 
tience. Let him feel that Thou art ever near. 
Let him learn to love Thee better and better. 
And if Thou art pleased to restore him to 
health, make him to walk all his days, be they 
many or few, in the way that leadeth to eternal 
life. Hear us, O pitiful and loving Lord, who, 
with the Father and the Holy Spirit, livest and 
reignest one God, world without end. Amen! 



220 ALONE WITH GOD. 

On a Wedding Morning. 

WE thank Thee, O Lord, for the circum- 
stances and prospects of this happy 
morning, for the mutual affection Thou 
hast kindled in the bosoms of those who are 
soon to be made one ; for the meetness of their 
union ; for the brightness of their hopes ; and 
for the joy which fills them both. Do .Thou 
sanction and bless their marriage. May He 
who was present at Cana of Galilee, and who 
turned the water into wine, be present at their 
nuptials, and crown with His favor our 
approaching festivities, and enhance these tem- 
poral mercies by the crowning gift of the Holy 
Spirit. 

Lord, purify and hallow, guide and keep Thy 
servants this day, and throughout all the future 
years of their wedded life ; that amidst its lights 
and shadows, its joys and sorrows, its duties 
and cares, they may evermore have affiance in 
Thee. 

After safely passing through the pilgrimage 
of this world, may they attain to everlasting 
felicity in Thine immediate presence amidst the 
holy angels, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen ! 



FAMILY WO B SHIP. 221 

On Entering a New Home. 

OThou gracious Father, from whom com- 
eth every good and perfect gift, we thank 
Thee for this earthly home, into which 
we have come and where we are to abide for 
awhile. We pray that it may be to us a happy 
place, sanctilied by Thy presence and Thy con- 
stant benediction ; a refuge from the storm of 
worldly cares and temptations ; a sanctuary of 
pure and holy affections ; a center from which 
shall go out influences to bless other hearts and 
homes. May it be a. place where those virtues 
which qualify the soul for tlie duties and trials 
of this life and for the joys of heaven, shall be 
fostered. Forbid, we beseech Thee, O our 
heavenly Father, that the spirit of envy, of 
strife, of selfishness or of irreverence, should 
ever abide under this roof. May we dwell here 
in contentment, in mutual esteem and helpful- 
ness, in loving dependence upon Thy gracious 
bounty, and in constant expectation of, and 
preparation for, that eternal, heavenly home, 
of which tliis is the type. May this become a 
dear spot to all of us, because of tender associa- 
tions and hallowed influences, towards which 
fond memory shall turn in the oncoming years, 
when its present inmates shall no longer form 
one family group. We pray Thee to sanctify to 
us this home-making, and consecrate this home 
to our use, and grant us all at last, a welcome 
to our Father's house in heaven; through the 
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with 
Thee and the Holy Spirit, be glory forever. 
Amen ! 



THE LORD'S PRAYER. 

Our Father who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. 
Thy kingdom come. Thy will he done on earth as it is in 
Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us 
our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. 
And lead us not into temptation : But deliver us from 
evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the 
glory, forever and ever. Amen! 



Almighty God, who givest us grace with one accord to 
make our common supplications unto Thee; and didst 
promise that when two or three are gathered together in 
Thy name Thou wilt grant their requests ; Fulfill now, O 
Lord, the desire and petitions of Thy servants, as may be 
most expedient for them ; grant us in this world knowledge 
of Thy truth; and in the world to come life everlasting. 
Amen! 

(222) 



SPECIAL OCCASIONS. 



Before Communion. 
I. 

OThou compassionate God! We bless Thee 
that though Thou dwellest in light which 
no man can approach unto, yet Thou 
wast graciously pleased to manifest Thyself in 
Christ our Redeemer. In memory of his death 
for our sakes, we gather here this morning and 
invoke Thy blessing upon these symbols of his 
sacrifice for sinful souls. 

Feed our souls upon the Bread of Life. 
Quench our thirst with the Water of the River 
of Life. Deepen our convictions; strengthen 
our purposes; increase our zeal; enrich our 
souls ; that we may run with patience the race 
that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the 
author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy 
that was set before him endured the cross, despis- 
ing its shame, and is now seated at Thy right 
hand. Be with us in life, and in death accept 
us in the Beloved ; We ask through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen! 

II. 

MOST merciful Heavenly Father, in whose 
likeness we have been created, and by 
whose grace we have been redeemed, T\dth 
grateful hearts we approach this Thy table to 

(223) 



224 SPECIAL OCCASIONS. 

commemorate the sufferings of our dear Lord. 
Make us meet, we pray Thee, to partake of 
these sacred emblems which represent the 
broken body and the shed blood of Jesus 
Christ our Saviour. We thank Thee for the 
great love which caused Thee to give us Thy 
only-begotten Son to redeem us from sin 
through His own death for us. And we thank 
Thee for the great privilege of being numbered 
among His disciples and counted worthy of a 
place at Thy table. Assist us, we pray Thee, 
our Heavenly Father, to partake of this bread 
and wine worthily, discerning the Lord's body 
and blood ; and as we partake of these material 
emblems, grant that we also may be partakers 
of Christ's spirit and life, so that, as He gave 
Himself for us, we also may give ourselves 
freely to Thy service and to one another in acts 
of brotherly love. Give us, we beseech Thee, 
a realizing sense of Thy spiritual presence with 
us in this institution, that, we may each be 
strengthened thereby; and so go forward in 
life's duties, stronger and purer for Thy ser- 
vice. And grant us at last the unspeakable 
joy of sitting down together, with the innum- 
erable company of the redeemed, at the Mar- 
riage Supper of the Lamb in Thy everlasting 
kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen! 



SPECIAL OCCASIONS, 225 

Thanksgiving at the Lord*s Table. 
For the Loaf. 

I. 

ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, in ap- 
proaching this Thy table, we would come 
in the spirit of true humility, feeling our 
unworthiness and confessing our sins. We 
presume not to sit down with Thee at this 
communion, because we are worthy of that fel- 
lowship to which Thou dost graciously invite 
us. But we come trusting in Thy unfailing 
mercy manifested by the sacrifice which we 
now commemorate. We thank Thee for this 
loaf, emblem of the broken body of Jesus. Help 
us to receive it with rev^erence and love. As 
we eat of this bread may we do so in loving 
memory of him who was bruised for our iniqui- 
ties, and by whose chastisement we are healed. 
Grant, O Father, that we may feed daily on the 
true Bread which came down from heaven, 
and so grow constantly in his image; for 
Christ's sake. Amen! 

n. 

GRACIOUS God, our heavenly Father, we 
thank Thee for a place in Thy church and 
among Thy people. We thank Thee for 
this institution of our Lord's own appointing 
which he has asked us to observe in memory of 
him. We pray Thy blessing upon us while we 
draw nigh to Thee in this sacred ordinance. 
As we feed upon this bread, help us to remem- 
(15) 



226 SPECIAL OCCASIONS, 



ber that Christ is the true Bread which came 
down from heaven, and that in him alone can 
the hunger of our souls be satisfied. Enable 
lis, by faith, to feed on this life-giving truth 
and grace, until we shall grow into his likeness, 
and share at last in his glory. We ask it in his 
precious name. Amen! 



For the Cup. 
I. 

WE thank Thee, O our heavenly Father, 
that Thou didst so love the world as to 
give Thine only begotten Son, that who- 
soever believeth on him might not perish, but 
have everlasting life. We thank Thee, dear 
Lord, for that great love which brought Thee 
to the earth, and caused Thee to lay down Thy 
precious life for us. As we partake of this 
fruit of the vine in memory of Thee and of Thy 
great sacrifice in our behalf, cause the tragic 
scenes of Gethsemane and of Calvary to pass 
before our minds. May Thy deep humiliation 
so affect our hearts, that all pride, and vanity 
and undue love for earthly things may be ban- 
ished from us, while we look at the cross. May 
we walk in fellowship with Thee here, all our 
days, and be permitted at last to drink this cup 
anew with Thee in Thine everlasting kingdom 
where we will praise Thee and Thy redeeming 
grace forever. Amen! 



SPECIAL OCCASIOXS. 227 

II. 

WE thank Thee, O Lord, for this cup of 
blessing which speaks to us, in symbolic 
language, of the precious blood of Christ 
shed for the remission of our sins. We thank 
Thee for this privilege of manifesting our faith 
in, and our love for, our risen and glorified 
Savior. As we drink of this emblematic cup, 
may the vision of the cross rise before us, with 
all its unspeakable shame and agony, until we 
realize, in some measure, the debt of gratitude 
we owe to Him who became obedient unto 
death that we might have eternal life. May 
we be drawn closer to Thee and closer to one 
another in holy love and fellowship, through 
our joint participation in this solemn feast. 
Througli the blood of the everlasting covenant, 
emblemized by this wine, cleanse us, we pray 
Thee, from all unrighteousness, and bring us 
at last to join in ascriptions of praise to Him 
who hath washed us from ovir sins in his own 
blood, to whom be glory forever and ever. 
Amen! 

Before Baptism. 

OLoRD, our God, we thank Thee for Thine 
appointed means of grace, by which we 
have the forgiveness of sins and access to 
Thee through the atoning blood of our Lord 
and Saviour. We thank Thee for the clear 
and unmistakable revelation of Thy will, with 
which it is our joyful privilege to comply in the 
sacred ordinance of Christian baptism. 

Vouchsafe Thy blessing upon our present 



228 SPECIAL OCCASIOXS, 



administration of this, Thy holy ordinance.' 
May it speak to our liearts of Jesus' love, and 
may it so impress tliis penitent believer (or 
these penitent believers) that the remembrance 
of this solemn moment may never be effaced. 
May the vovi^s now taken be sacredly kept, and 
may the new life here begun exhibit in its 
unfoldings more and more of the beauty and 
excellency of our Redeemer's character. 

May the Christian graces ever adorn the pro- 
fession here made, until the soul shall iind its 
perfect rest in heaven. Here under the spell 
of the beauty, and impressiveness of our Lord's 
institution we acknowledge Jesus anew as our 
king, and renew our pledge of loyalty to his 
service. Grant us, O Father, Thy presence 
and Thy blessing; through our Lord Jesus 
Christ. Amen ! 



Prayer at the Funeral of a Christian. 

OUR Father who art in heaven, we adore 
Thee as the Father of comfort and the 
God of consolation. We thank Thee for 
the assurance that in our deepest distress we 
may cast our cares upon Thee because Thou 
carest for us. We thank Thee for the words 
of our Lord spoken at the sepulchre, "I am the 
resurrection and the life," and by the living 
hope begotten in us by his own resurrection 
from the dead. We thank Thee for the rest 
that remaineth for the people of God and that 
thus "He giveth his beloved sleep." We praise 
Thee for this life of Christian faith and hope, 
and may its influence be felt by all in this pres- 



SPECIAL OC CASIO XS, 229 

ence. May the God and Sa^dour of the departed 
one be the God and Saviour of all these kin- 
dred and friends, and may there be a happy 
reunion in the Father's house of many man- 
sions. As these sad hearts are weighed down 
beneath the shadows of deep affliction may 
they find Thee a present help in their time of 
trouble. Though the thorn of this great grief 
may not be taken away, may Thy grace be 
sufficient for them. As they walk in the valley 
of the shadow of death may one like the Son 
of Man walk with them, giving manjia for their 
hunger and solace for their sorrow. These 
blessings we ask in the name of Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen! 



Invocation. 

(Phil. 4:6.) 

OThou who inhabitest eternity! Holy and 
reverend is Thy name. Thou art almighty ; 
all seeing and all wise ; infinite in good- 
ness, in mercy, and in love. Though the 
heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee, Thou 
dost condescend to accept our Avorship of Thee, 
our Father who art in heaven. We implore 
Thy pardon for all our sins. Grant us Thy 
presence while we worship Thee. Give us a 
larger measure of Thy Holy Spirit. Bless us 
in the study of Thy Word; in the singing of 
Thy praise, and in the prayers we offer; in 
Jesus' name. Amen! 



230 SPECIAL OCCASIOXS, 



At a Wedding. 

ALMIGHTY God, who clidst ordain marriage 
in the beginning, to promote the wehare 
of tlie hmnan family, be pleased to vouch- 
safe Thy blessing upon this union. Sanction 
and confirm this solemn and life-long compact 
into which these persons have entered. Give 
them grace and strength to fulfill the sacred 
obligations growing out of this relation. Help 
them to be true to their vows, and true to each 
other in all the experiences of life that may 
await them. May they share each other's joys 
and sorrows, and whether in prosperity or 
adversity, in sickness or in health, may they 
never forsake each other. And grant, heav- 
enly Father, that they may so live together here 
in this world that they may be admitted at last 
into that other world to enjoy eternal felicity 
Avith Thee; through our Lord Jesus Christ. 
Amen ! 



At Opening of the Sunday-School. 

WE THANK Thee, our Heavenly Father, that 
Thou hast preserved our lives through 
another week, and hast permitted us to 
gather here in this place on this Thy Holy Day, 
to worship Thee, and to study Thy blessed 
Word. We thank Thee for this sacred day, for 
this pleasant place of worship, for Thy precious 
Word, for these kind teachers, for our homes, 
our parents, and for loving friends, but above 
all do we thank Thee, kind Father, for Jesus 
Christ, Thy well-beloved Son, through whom 



SPECIAL OCCASIOXS. 231 

we enjoy all these blessings. We pray Thee, 
to bless any of our number who may be sick, 
or who are kept away by other causes. Bless 
those of us who are here. Forgive all our 
sins, and make us glad and joyful in Thy serv- 
ice this day. Help the teachers in imparting 
instruction, and aid us all in understanding the 
lesson taught. And as Ave learn more of Thy 
will, help us to obey Thee in all things. Grant 
that these childixin who have learned to love 
the Savior through the instruction received 
liere and in their homes, may be led to confess 
Him, and to surrender their young lives to His 
blessed service. Let Tliy blessing rest now 
upon the officers, teachers, children, and all 
other members of this school and make this a 
pleasant and profitable hour to all of us, we 
ask in Christ's name. Amen! 

At Closing of Sunday School. 

WE thank Thee, blessed Father, for this 
privilege, which w^e have once more 
enjoyed, of studying Thy Word, and of 
mingling our voices in songs of praise to Thee 
and to our dear Saviour. We come now, at 
the close, to ask Thy blessing upon the Word 
studied, that its truths may sink deeply into 
our hearts and bring forth precious fruit in our 
lives. Let Thy divine protection be over all 
the members of this school until we meet again. 
Help us all to abstain from every kind of sin 
during this week and to seek to do all the good 
we can. May we be kind and gentle in our 
homes, diligent in our tasks at school or in 



232 SPECIAL OCCASIOXS. 

business, and constantly remember i\mi 
wherever we may be or whatever we may do, 
^'TJiou, God, seest iis." Help us to spend the 
remainder of this day in a manner that will be 
well pleasing to Thee, and when we have fin- 
ished the service Thou hast allotted to us on 
earth, bring us all to share in the joys of Thy 
heavenly home; we ask in Christ's name. 
Amen ! 

At Opening of the Y. Pe S. C. E. 

OUR Father, who art in heaven, we thank 
Thee, that Thou hast given us a place in 
Thy Church, and a part in Tliy most 
blessed service. 

Though young, we have felt the guilt of sin, 
and have experienced something of the joy and 
peace of Thy forgiveness, through the name of 
Jesus Christ, our Saviour. We are glad to be 
pernaitted to express our thanks to Thee for 
Thy great love to us and for Thy continual 
care for us. We have come together as a 
Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor, 
to praise Thee in song, to call upon Thee in 
prayer, to read Thy precious word, and to 
exhort one another to greater faithfulness in 
our Christian profession. 

Be pleased, gracious Father, to meet with 
us, and to bless each one of us according to our 
needs. Some of us are very young and inex- 
perienced in Christian life, and we feel our 
need of Thy tender guidance, and constant 
care, O Thou great Shepherd of our souls. 

Wilt Thou help each one of us to bear some 



SPECIAL OCCASIONS. 233 

part, promptly and clieerfuliy, in this meeting", 
and may it prove a blessing to every heart here 
jjresent. Help us, O Lord, as we grow older, 
to grow stronger in faith, in ho}3e and in love, 
and to be more like Jesus. 

And grant that when our lives on earth are 
ended, we may be permitted to join in the 
higher service of Thy upper santuary, where 
we shall praise Thee forever — Father, Son, and 
Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen! 

At Closing of Y. P. S. C. E. 

GRACIOUS Father, we come now to invoke 
Thy blessing upon us as we separate from 
this place. We thank Thee for this happy 
and profitable hour we have spent together, 
and that Thou hast enabled so many to take 
part in this service. We pray Thee, dear 
Father, to bless this society, and make it a 
blessing to the church of which it is a part. 
jMake it a means of grace to us as young disci- 
ples, where we may be trained for greater use- 
fulness in Thy cause. Wilt Thou help us now 
to carry out, during this week, the pledges and 
high resolves we have made to Thee and to 
one another, and may the influence of our lives 
be such as to draw our young friends and asso- 
ciates, who are not Christians, into Thy king- 
dom and service. Kow unto Him that is able 
to guard us from stumbling, and to set us 
before the presence- of his glory without blem- 
ish in exceeding joy, to the only God our 
Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be 
glory, majesty, dominion and power, before all 
time, and now and forever more. Amen! 



234 SPECIAL OCCASIOXS. 

For Children's Day. 

OLoRD, since Thou hast laid upon Thy 
churcli the duty of making disciples of all 
nations and of preaching Thy glorious 
gospel to the whole world, we thank Thee that 
Thou hast put it into the hearts of these 
children, and of other children in our Sun- 
day-schools all over the land, to bear a 
part in this great work. Joyful in their 
own happy homes, and surrounded by the 
blessings which the gospel has brought to our 
own land of light and liberty, they desire to 
make an offering, according to their ability, to 
aid in sending missionaries of the Cross to 
heathen lands where ih^ people know not the 
true God, but grope in the darkness of idolatry. 
Bless our service this day. Bless all who shall 
take part in the exercises, and all who offer 
gifts to this holy cause. Bless with us, the 
great army of children all over this land who 
to-day are engaged in similar service for the 
same object. We would pray, dear Father, for 
Thy blessing to rest richly upon those who 
have gone from us to preach Jesus and His love 
in those distant lands. Preserve their lives and 
their health, if it please Thee, and may they 
be enabled, by Thy gracious aid, to turn many 
from darkness to light and from the power of 
Satan unto God. Help us to make our offer- 
ings so generous that many others may be sent 
to assist them. If it please thhee, O Father, 
grant that some of our own school may find it 
in their hearts, if the way be open for them in 
the future, to go as missionaries, bearing Thy 



SPECIAL OCCASIONS. 235 

precious truth, which they have learned here, 
to distant fields. Help us all to be enlisted in 
some way in this great work, and w^hile we are 
sending the Gospel to others may we all receive 
it into our own hearts, that it may lit us for the 
duties and trials of this life and for admission 
into Thine everlasting Kingdom. For the sake 
of Jesus Christ, our dear Redeemer. Amen! 

For Children's Mission Bands. 

OUR Father in heaven, we thank Thee that 
little hands may help in building up Thy 
Church in the world. AYhen Jesus was 
here on earth He showed great love for the 
chiklren, and we are glad to show our love for 
Him by doing the little w^e can for liis cause. 
Blessed Saviour, we are young and very weak 
and cannot do much for Thee, but we are sure 
Thou will help us, and bless our humble efforts 
to do good. Fill our young hearts with Thy 
love, and guide us by Thy Spirit, so that, as we 
grow older we may grow stronger, and be able 
to do much more to send the gospel to those 
who know Thee not. Hear us, dear Father, 
forgiA^e our wrongs, bless us in our meeting, 
and guide and protect us all through this life, 
and save us at last; in Jesus' name. Amen! 

At Meeting of the Official Board. 

ALMIGHTY God, source of all wisdom and 
poAver, who by Thy Son hath redeemed 
us from the service and bondage of sin, 
and hath made us members of Thy Church, 



236 SPECIAL OCCASIONS, 

and office-bearers in Thy kingdom, we invoke 
TJiy blessing upon this meeting. Give us wis- 
dom and grace to discharge faithfully the duties 
which have been laid upon us, in managing 
the affairs of this congregation. May we have 
a proper appreciation of the nature and import- 
ance of our duties, and seek diligently to so 
perform them as to promote the peace and 
prosperity of this church. Guide us in our 
deliberations in this meeting and may all we 
do here have for its supreme aim the advance- 
ment of Christ's kingdom. We ask it all in 
Christ's name. Amen! 

At Ladies* Missionary Meeting. 

OLoRD, our loving and gracious Father, we 
thank Thee that Thou hast called us by 
Thy gospel into fellowship with Thee and 
with Thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. With 
grateful hearts we acknowledge all the bless- 
ings which have come to our hearts and homes 
through the gospel of Thy grace. Realizing 
how much we owe to Christ for all the joy, and 
freedom and privilege He has brought to us, 
we desire to manifest our gratitude to Hhn by 
earnest, consecrated efforts in conveying t?iis 
great salvation to others who know Thee not. 
Hence we have met together as a band of sis- 
ters who have united our efforts in this work, 
to seek a wider knowledge of the great field 
and its needs, to plan for the extension of Thy 
Kingdom, to make our offerings to this holy 
cause, and to invoke Thy richest blessing upon 
us and our work. We would remember, O 



SPECIAL OCCASIONS, 237 

Lord, how many millions of our race are yet 
in pagan darkness and the wretched and en- 
slaved condition of so many of our own sex in 
heathen lands. We would remember, too, our 
brothers and sisters, who, impelled by the love 
of Christ, have left home and friends and 
native land, to carry the glad tidings of salva- 
tion to those who sit in the region and shadow 
of death. O Father, we do humbly beseech 
Thee to encourage their hearts, strengthen 
their faith and bless their labors, to the end 
that the glorious light of Thy gospel may dis- 
pel the dark shadow of idolatry from the face 
of the whole earth. We thank Thee that we 
may be not only recipients of this great salva- 
tion, but co-workers with Thee in redeeming a 
lost world by making known Thy great salva- 
tion to the ends of the world. O that all who 
enjoy the blessed light and liberty of the gos- 
pel of Christ, in this Christian land, might 
realize their obligation to engage in this work, 
and thus promote their own spiritual growth 
and happiness while aiding in the salvation of 
others. 

And now, dear Father, grant us the aid of 
Thy Holy Spirit, in our meeting, to so guide 
our thoughts that all our plans and purposes, 
our words and our acts, may meet with Thy 
approval, and that through our humble efforts 
Thy name may be glorified among men. We 
ask it in Christ's name. Amen! 



238 SPECIAL OCCASIONS. 

For Ordination Service. 

ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, we 
adore Thee as the Author of our being 
and the Source of all wisdom and grace 
and truth. We thank Thee for the fulness of 
the revelation Thou hast given us of Thy glo- 
rious character and gracious purposes, in Jesus 
Christ, Thy Son, our Saviour. We thank Thee 
for the Church which lie established in the 
world, as the pillar and ground of the truth, 
and for the assurance that the gates of hell shall 
not prevail against it. We thank Thee for 
what this divine institution is accomplishing 
for the welfare of the human race. We pray 
Thee to heal its divisions and backslidings and 
make it more and more efficient in accomplish- 
ing the great work which Thou hast committed 
to it. Help us all to realize how greatly Thou 
hast honored us in giving us a place in Thy 
Church and among Thy people. 

We do especially invoke Thy divine blessing, 
O Lord, upon this Thy servant, [or servants] 
whom we, under the instruction of Thy word, 
have called to a special work in Thy Church. 
Wilt Thou be pleased to let Thy divine appro- 
bation rest upon this our action, and to ratify 
the same by Thy blessing upon his work. 
Grant him [or them] such wisdom and grace as 
may fit him for the duties to which he has been 
called. May he realize the responsibility that 
belongs to an office-bearer in Thy kingdom — 
to one wdio ministers in holy things, and seek 
constantly Thy aid in meeting this responsi- 
bility. Endow him richly with Thy Spirit, 



SPECIAL OCCASIONS, 239 

-- 

that he may love Thy word, Thy church, and 
Thy service, and so labor as to promote the 
peace and prosperity of Zion. May his life be 
without reproach, an example to others, and 
his conversation be seasoned with grace. So 
living and laboring with single-hearted devo- 
tion to Thy Cause may his brethren give him 
all needful moral and material support, and 
thus share with him the fellowship of the Gos- 
pel. Grant us all grace, we beseech Thee, to 
so fulfill our mutual oblio^'ations here that we 
may share together the joys and honors of Thy 
heavenly kingdom; through Jesus Christ, our 
Lord. Amen ! 



On Opening a House of Worship. 

OThou who inhabitest eternity, and whose 
presence tills all space and all time, whom 
the heaven of heavens cannot contain, and 
yet who dwellest in the humble and contrite 
heart, to Thee, O God, our Father, we come 
with glad and grateful hearts, to-day, to praise 
Thee for all Thy wonderful goodness to the 
children of men. Inasmuch as Tliou hast put 
it into the hearts of Thy people here, to erect 
this house of worship for the glory of Thy 
name and for the salvation of men, wilt Thou 
be pleased to accept the same, and make it a 
house of Thine abode, where Thou shalt meet 
with those that gather in Thy name to show 
Thyself gracious to them. We thank Thee for 
the liberalizing Influence of Thy Gospel, by 
which Thy children here have been enabled to 
offer freely their gifts for the erection of this 



240 SPECIAL OCCASIONS. 

building. Let Thy blessing rest richly upon 
those who have made sacrifices for the comple- 
tion of this work, and may they realize the 
blessedness of giving. 

And now, O Lord, we pray that this may be 
truly a house of worship, a place in which Thy 
people here may worship Thee in spirit and in 
truth. May the people who gather here from 
time to time, come, not for social enjoyment, 
not for musical or literary entertainment, 
merely, but to worship the true and living God, 
and to hear his AYord. Plere may the glorious 
Gospel of out* Lord Jesus Christ be preached in 
its original fulness and purity, as long as these 
walls shall stanch Here may the impenitent 
and unbelieving be brought to conviction of 
sin, and be made to rejoice in the sweetness of 
redeeming love, and take their places in Thy 
Church. Here may Thy children be edified in 
the knowledge of Christ, and be built up in all 
the elements of Christian character. May this 
house be not only a place of worship, but a cen- 
ter of religious activity. Here may the young 
be trained in the spirit and methods of Chris- 
tian work, so that this church may let its light 
shine throughout this community, and even in 
the regions beyond. 

Bless those who shall preach Christ within 
these walls in the days to come. 3Iay they be 
men of pure hearts, and of clean hands, who 
shall take heed to themselves and to their min- 
istry that they may both save themselves and 
those that hear them. Bless those who shall 
serve this church in any official capacity and 
give them such measure of Thy Spirit as will fit 



SPECIAL OCCASIOXS. 241 

them for their several duties and responsibilities. 
Bless the entire niembersliip of the church, and 
in dedicating this building to Thy worship, 
may we also, here and now, dedicate ourselves 
anew to Thy service. May this occasion mark 
a new era in the history of this church — an era 
characterized by increased devotion to the inter- 
ests of Thy Kingdom, greater activity in spread- 
ing the Gospel at home and abroad, more 
kindly care one for another, and greater zeal in 
exalting Christ, in doctrine and in life. Aud 
when these earthly tabernacles shall have crum- 
bled to dust, may we all be permitted to wor- 
ship Thee in Thy upper and better sanctuary, 
where we shall praise Thee forever, Father, 
Son and Holy Spirit, world without end. 
Amen ! 

For a Temperance Meeting. 

MERCIFUL God, our heavenly Father, since 
no sparrow falls to the ground without 

Thy notice, we are sure that the cries and 
groans and heartaches and prayers, of those 
whose lives have been shadowed by intemper- 
ance, have come up before Thee. Thou know- 
est the ravages of the liquor traffic in this land 
of ours — how4iomes are being desolated, lives 
are being blighted and poverty, wretchedness 
and crime are being multiplied by this great 
curse. We beseech Thee, O God of justice, 
wake up the slumbering hosts of Thy Church, 
to a realization of their responsibility to Thee 
for the suppression of this gigantic evil. 
Quicken the conscience of this nation, that it 
inay see the iniquity of having any fellowship 
with this nefarious traffic, and may direct its 

(16) 



242 SPECIAL OCCASIONS, 

power towards its overthrow. O pity, we 
pray Thee, the Avidows and orphans, the 
broken-hearted wives and mothers, who are 
the sorrowful victims of the saloon power. 
May all who value the welfare of mankind, and 
the prosperity of Thy kingdom in the world, 
give the power of their personal example to 
total abstinence from all intoxicating drinks, 
and may those entrusted with the right of suf- 
frage so exercise it as to promote righteousness 
in government and to curtail the power of evil. 
Hear us, O Lord, and grant us wisdom and 
courage to do our whole duty in this warfare, 
against this mighty evil. Bless the brave men 
• and women everywhere who are doing valiant 
service in this cause, and help us to work 
together unitedly for the overthrow of the 
liquor power and the triumph of Thy kingdom ; 
in Christ's name. Amen! 

On Civic Occasions. 

OLoRD, our God, we adore Thee as the 
King of kings, and Lord of lords. By 
Thee kings rule and princes decree justice. 
Thou art our fathers' God, and we will extol 
Thee; Thou art our God, and "vVe will praise 
Thee. We thank Thee for all the blessings 
social, civil, and religious which we do enjoy. 
Accept of our gratitude for this pleasant land, 
so wonderfully blessed by Thee in all means of 
good. We praise Thee for the faith, courage 
and virtue of our ancestors who did and suf- 
ered so much that we might enjoy this goodly 
heritage. We recognize most gratefidly the 



SPECIAL OCCASIOXS. 



riches of Thy providence in all our times of 
peril. If Thou, O God, hast not saved us, how 
have we been saved? Thou hast not dealt so 
bountifully Avith any people, and oh, that men 
would praise Thee more for Thy marvelous 
goodness. We have to confess with shame- 
facedness how unworthy and disobedient we 
have been. Many and grievous sins cry out 
against us, wrongs against humanity and 
wrongs against Thee, O God. Canst Thou 
pardon and wilt Thou forgive for Jesus' sake? 
May the people of tliis nation be impressed 
tliat righteousness exalteth a nation, and sin is 
a reproach to any people. May we strive to do 
justly, lov^e mercy, and Avalk humbly with Thee, 
our God. Graciously bless, we beseech Thee, 
the President of the United States and his cab- 
inet, the governor of the commonwealth, and 
all who are called to administer the affairs of 
government. May all who make and execute 
our laws be indeed pure men, such as fear 
God ; men of truth, hating covetousness. AVhile 
they enact and execute laws for their fellow 
citizens, may their hearts be inclined to keep 
Thy laws. May peace, purity and piety pre- 
vail and may Thy will be done among men as 
it is in heaven. All these blessings we ask in 
the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen! 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 



In the preparation of Part II. of this work, the 
author has availed himself of, ^Tor Family 
Worship,'' by Lyman Abbott, D.D.; ^'Private 
Devotions For Young Persons,'' compiled by 
Elizabeth Sewell; ''The Narrow Way," by J« 
Whitaker, London; ''Short Prayers for 'Private 
Use," by D. F. Spriggs, D.D., and the "Book of 
Common Prayer." Most of the works mentioned 
are also compilations from various sources. We 
have had before us many other works of a devo- 
tional nature. A few brethren have kindly con- 
tributed one or more forms of prayer or thanks- 
giving, viz: B. U. Watkins, and wife, D. E. 
Dungan, A. P. Cobb, H. D. Clark, S. B. Moore, 
Simpson Ely. Besides these, we have had helpful 
suggestions and encouraging words from many 
others. To all these brethren and to the various 
authors mentioned we hereby tender grateful 

acknowledgments. 

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